HISTORY 



OF 



UPPER AND LOWER CANADA 

BY 

R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN. F.S.S. 




LONDON: 
JOHN MORTIMER, 
2, WIGMORE STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. 



:\O l 



^1 



si 3 



LONDON : 

PRINTED By W. NICOL, 51, PALL MALL. 




TO THE 

KING S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. 
Sire, 

In placing before Your IVIajesty the pre- 
sent Edition of my Work on the Colonies, I avail 
myself of the opportunity to express my deep 
sense of gratitude for tlje patronage which Your 
Majesty was graciously pleased to bestow, in per- 
mitting me the distinguished honour of dedicating 
the first History of the British Colonies to the 
Sovereign of the greatest Colonial Empire in the 
World ; and for the favour with which Your Ma- 
jesty, and every branch of the Royal Family, have 
uniformly regarded efforts, which had for their sole 
object the promotion of the public good. 

Conceiving, Sire, that my duty towards Your 
Majesty may be most gratefully manifested by a 
perseverance in my efforts to awaken the attention 
of the public to the importance of our Colonial 
Possessions, I have prepared the present Edition, 



iv 

with a view principally to the instruction of ty . 
rising generation, and also, to convey informati/ n 
to those whose attention to the Colonies would/ not 
be attracted by an elaborate Statistical Work. 

With truth may it be affirmed, Sire, that the trans- 
marine dominions of your insular Kingdom offer to 
the Agriculturist, measureless fields for pasture and 
tillage ; — to the Manufacturer, an incalculable ex- 
tension of the home market for the disposal of his 
wares ; — to the Merchant and Mariner, vast marts 
for profitable traffic in every product with which 
Nature has bounteously enriched the Earth 3 — to the 
Capitalist, an almost interminable extent for the pro 
fitable investment of his funds ; — and to the indus- 
trious, skilful, and intelligent Emigrant, an area of 
upwards two million square miles, where every 
species of mental ingenuity, and manual labour may 
be developed and brought into action, with advan- 
tage to the whole family of man. England has 
no need to manufacture beet. root sugar (as France) 
— her West and East India possessions yield an 
inexhaustible profusion of the cane 5 — grain (whe- 
ther wheat, barley, oats, maize or rice,) every where 
abounds ; — her American, Asiatic and African pos- j 
sessions contain boundless supplies of timber, corn, 
coal, iron, copper, gold, hemp, wax, tar, tallow, &c. ; ' 
— the finest wools are the product of her South Asian 
regions ; — cotton, opium, silk, coffee, cocoa, tobacco. 



V 



saltpetre, spices, spirits, wines and fruits, of every 
variety and to any extent, may be procured in the 
East and in the West, in the North and in the South 
of the Empire : — on the icy coast of Labrador as 
well as at the opposite Pole, her adventurous hunters 
and fishers pursue their gigantic game, almost within 
sight of their protecting flag 5 and on every soil, 
and under every habitable clime, Britons desirous 
of change, or who cannot obtain occupation at 
home, may be found implanting, or extending the 
language, laws and liberties of their Father-land. 
In fine, Sire, on this wondrous Empire the solar 
orb never sets, — while the hardy woodsman and 
heroic hunter, on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa, are 
shivering beneath a wintry solstice, the peaceful, 
but no less meritorious farmer and shepherd on the 
Kysna and Hawkesbury, are rejoicing over the 
golden grain and fleece of the Autumnal Southern 
clime 5 and every breeze that blows from the Arctic 
to the Antarctic circles is wafting over the un- 
fathomable ocean myriads — 

' Whose march is on the mountain wave, 
"Whose home is on the deep.' 

That an Empire, Sire, so extraordinary in its 
growth, and so exquisitely varied in its structure, 
is the result of blind chance, it would be impious 
to assert. Few will be found, with the hardihood 
of atheism, to deny that an overruling Providence 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

History of Canada — its discovery, Colonization by the French 
— Capture by the British, &c p. 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Geography, Physical Aspect, Mountains, Lakes, Cataracts, 
and Rivers — Islands, Canals, Chief Towns, &c p. 62 



CHAPTER III. 

Geology and Mineralogy of the Canadas, Soil, Climate, 
&c p. 161 



CHAPTER IV. 

Population of the Canadas from the Earliest period, and classi- 
fication of it by Districts and Counties, according to the 
last Census . . p. 208 



CHAPTER V. 



Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms, &c. — Staple Products of the 
Canadas p. 237 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Commerce, Shipping, Imports and Exports of Quebec 
and 'Montreal ; — Value of the Trade, — Weights and Mea- 
sures, — Monetary System, — Banks, &c p. 262 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Government, Laws, Military Defence, and Finances of 

the Canadas p. 275 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Religion — Education and the Press— Social State — Emigra- 
tion — Wages, &c p. 304 

CONCLUSION p. 333 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

View of Quebec To face Title. 

Great Seal of Upper Canada Title-page. 

Lower Do Last page. 

Large Map To face 1st Chapter. 

Map of Lower Canada 4th Do. 

Upper Do . 6th Do. 



THE 

COLONIES 

OP THE 

BRITISH EMPIRE. 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTORY OF CANADA ITS DISCOVERY, COLONIZATION BY THE 

FRENCH, AND CAPTURE BY THE BRITISH, &C. 

Canada, so called from the Iroquois word Kanata, 
signifying a collection of huts, and which the early 
European discoverers mistook for the name of the 
country, embraces that portion of the American Con- 
tinent which is bounded on the E. by the Atlantic 
Ocean and the Gulf of St Lawrence ; on the W by 
the Pacific Ocean ; on the N. by the Hudson Bay 
territory 5 and on the S. by the United States, and 
by a part of New Brunswick. It contains, so far as 
can yet be estimated, an area of 350,000 square 
miles, and is now divided into two Provinces, called 
Upper and Lower Canada, — the boundary lines of 
which will be seen on the map.* 

* In the large Edition of this Work the complex question of 
the boundaries of the British Possessions in N. America is fully- 
discussed. 

VOL. I. B 



THE CAN A DAS. 



Several individuals claim the honour of having 
been the discoverers of this portion of the New 
World 5 but in a work, whose main object is to 
place before the British public, a faithful though 
succinct view of the actual state of the Colonies, 
a brief description of the early events relating solely 
to the Canadian Coast, is all that will be requi- 
site. 

The celebrated Italian adventurers, John, and his 
sons Sebastian, Louis, and Sanchez Cabot, who re- 
ceived a commission on the 5th of March, 1495, 
from Henry VII. of England to discover what Co- 
lumbus was in search of — a North-west passage to 
the East Indies or China, or as the latter named 
country was then called, Cathay * claim the ho- 
nour of being the first discoverers of Canada. The 
adventurers sailed in 1497 with six ships, and, early 
in June of the same year, discovered Newfoundland \ 
whence continuing a westerly course, they reached 
the Continent of N. America, which the Cabots 
coasted (after exploring the Gulf of St. Lawrence) 
as far N. as 67-50 N. Lat. They returned to Eng- 
land in August, 1497 but although Sebastian 
subsequently performed three voyages to the New 
World, no settlement was effected on its shores. 
In 1500, Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese gentle- 
man, visited the coast, and pursued the track of 
Sir John Cabot (who was knighted by our sovereign), 
but Cortereal and his brothers accomplished nothing 

* We know nothing certain of the Spaniards having pre- 
viously visited this part of America. The discovery of Columbus 
was in 1492, only five years previous to Cabot's voyage. 



HISTORY. 3 

further than the kidnapping of several of the na- 
tives, whom they employed and sold as slaves. In 
1502 Hugh Elliot and Thomas Ashurst, merchants 
of Bristol, with two other gentlemen, obtained a 
patent from Henry VII. to establish colonies in the 
countries lately discovered by Cabot ; but the result 
of the permission granted is not known. In 1527 
an expedition was fitted out by Henry VIII. by 
the advice of Robert Thorne, a merchant of Bristol, 
for the purpose of discovering a N. W. passage to 
the E. Indies, one of the ships attempting which was 
lost. 

Francis the First of France, piqued at the disco- 
veries of Spain and Portugal, and having his ambi- 
tion roused by the monopolizing pretensions of 
these two powers to the possessions in the New 
World, authorized the fitting out of an expedition, the 
command of which he gave to Giovanni Verrazano, 
a Florentine, who, on his second voyage, discovered 
Florida, and thence sailing back along the American 
coast to the 50° of lat., took formal possession of 
the country for his royal master, and called it e La 
Nouvelle France.' On Verrazano's return to Europe, 
in 1525, without gold or silver or valuable mer- 
chandize, he was at first coldly received, but, it is 
said, subsequently sent out with more particular 
instructions, and directions to open a communi- 
cation with the natives in endeavouring to fulfil 
which he lost his life in a fray with the Indians. 
This however is denied ; and it is asserted, that 
the capture of Francis the First at the battle of 
Pavia in 1 525, prevented him from further explor- 



4 



THE CANADAS. 



ing the coast, and that he returned to his native 
country, and died in obscurity. When the Govern- 
ment, however, ceased to follow up the result of 
Verrazano's formal acquisition of Canada, the French- 
men of St. Maloes commenced a successful fishery 
at Newfoundland, which, so early as 1517, had 50 
ships belonging to the English, Spanish, French, 
and Portuguese, engaged in the cod fishery on its 
banks. Jacques Cartier, a native of St. Maloes, en- 
gaged in the Newfoundland fishery, took the lead in 
exploring, at his own risk, the N. coasts of the new 
hemisphere. This bold and experienced navigator 
at last received a commission from his sovereign, 
Francis the First, and left St. Maloes20th April, 1 53 i, 
with two vessels of 60 tons each - y arrived at New- 
foundland on the 10th May ; remained there 10 days, 
and then sailed to the northward ; passed through the 
straits of Bellisle, changed his course somewhat to the 
southward, traversed the great Gulf of St. Lawrence 
(already known to Europeans), and, on the 9th July 
arrived in the Bay of Chaleurs, which he so termed 
on account of its heat. On the 24th July, Cartier 
was at Gaspe, where he erected a cross, surmounted 
by a fteur-de-lys, and on the 25th July, sailed 
for France with two native Indians. The enter- 
prizing character of his royal master induced him 
to despatch Cartier in the following year with 
three larger vessels, and a number of young gen- 
tlemen as volunteers. The ships rendezvoused at 
Newfoundland, and in August sailed up the St. Law- 
rence, so called from its being discovered on the 
10th day of that month, being the festival of the 



HISTORY. 



5 



Saint of that name. Cartier anchored off Quebec, 
then called Stadacona, and the abode of an Indian 
chief, named Donnaconna. After leaving his ships 
secure, he pursued his route in the pinnace and two 
boats, until (on the 3rd October) he reached an is- 
land in the river, with a lofty mountain, which he 
named Mont-Royal, now called Montreal. After 
losing many of his followers from scurvy, during his 
wintering at Stadaconna, which he named St. Croix, 
Cartier returned to France in 1536, carrying off by 
force Donnaconna, two other chiefs, and eight natives. 
The French court finding that no gold or silver was 
to be had, paid no further attention to La Nouvelle 
France or Canada, until the year 1540, when Cartier, 
after much exertion, succeeded in getting a royal 
expedition fitted out under the command of Fran- 
cois de la Roque, Seigneur de Roberval, who was 
commissioned by Francis the First as Viceroy and 
Lieut. -General in Canada, Hochelaga (or Montreal), 
&c. Roberval despatched Cartier to form a settle- 
ment, which he did at St. Croix's Harbour on the 
23rd August, 1541, but suddenly left it in the early 
part of the ensuing year. The Viceroy himself ar- 
rived in Canada in July, 1542, where he built a fort, 
and wintered, about four leagues above the isle of 
Orleans (first called the Isle of Bacchus) ; but for 
want of any settled plans, in consequence of the 
scurvy, and the insurrections and deadly hostility of 
the Indians, owing to Cartier's having in 1535 car- 
ried off the Indian Chief Donnaconna, and his at- 
tendants, (who had all perished in France), little 



6 



THE CAN A DAS. 



was accomplished.* Roberval's attention was called 
from Canada, to serve his sovereign in the struggle 
for power, so long waged with Charles V. of Spain ; 
and Jacques Carrier, ruined in health and fortune, 
died in France soon after his arrival there. Roberval, 
on the death of Francis I. embarked again for Ca- 
nada in 1549, with his gallant brother, Achille, 
and a numerous train of enterprizing young men 5 
but having never afterwards been heard of, they 
are supposed to have perished at sea. 

In 1 57 6, Martin Frobisher was sent out by Queen 
Elizabeth, with three ships on discovery, when Eliza- 
beth's Foreland, and the straights which bear his own 
name, were discovered. Frobisher mistaking mundic, 
mica or talc, for gold ore, brought large quantities 
of it to England, and was despatched by some mer- 
chants, with three ships in the following year, to seek 
for gold, and to explore the coast of Labrador and 
Greenland, with the view of discovering a N. W. 
passage to India. He returned without any other 
success than 200 tons of the supposed gold ore, 
and an Indian man, woman and child. In 1578, 
Martin Frobisher again sailed for the American con- 
tinent, with no fewer than 15 ships, in search of 
gold, to the ruin of many adventurers, who re- 
ceived nothing but mica instead of gold ore 5 the 

* The narrative of these proceedings must be received with 
due allowance, as there is considerable discrepancy in the dif- 
ferent historians ; the statements of Hakluyt are here generally 
followed. 



HISTORY. 



7 



fact, however, shews the speculative avidity of mer- 
cantile adventure at that period. 

For 50 years France paid no attention to Canada, 
and the few settlers or their descendants left by Car- 
tier or Roberval, were unheeded and unsuccoured 
but in 1598 the taste for colonial adventure revived, 
and Henry IV. appointed the Marquis de la Roche 
his lieutenant-general in Canada, w T ith power to 
partition discovered lands into seigniories and fiefs, 
to be held under feudal tenure, and as a com- 
pensation for military service when required. La 
Roche fitted out but one vessel, and unfortunately 
reinforced his crew with 40 malefactors from the 
prisons, It is sufficient here to state, that Sable 
island, a barren sand bank, and a rude part of 
Acadia (now called Nova Scotia), were first settled 
on, and afterwards abandoned ; and that to private 
enterprize, rather than to royal decrees, the French 
nation were at last indebted for a permanent and 
profitable colonization in Canada. M. Pontgrave, a 
merchant of St. JMalo, who had distinguished him- 
self by making several profitable fur voyages to Ta- 
doussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay river, en- 
gaged as an associate M. Chauvin, a naval officer, 
who obtained from Henry IV. in 1600, a commis- 
sion, granting him an exclusive trade with Canada, 
and other privileges. Chauvin associated other per- 
sons with him in his enterprize, and made two suc- 
cessful trading voyages to Tadoussac, where the In- 
dians gave the most valuable furs in exchange for 
mere trifles. Chauvin died in 1603, but commander 
De Chatte, or De Chaste, governor of Dieppe, 



8 



THE CANADAS. 



founded a company of merchants at Rouen, to carry 
on the fur trade on an extensive scale 5 an arma- 
ment was equipped under Pontgrave and a distin- 
guished naval officer named Samuel Champlain, 
who sailed up the St. Lawrence, as far as Sault St. 
Louis in 1603. On the death of Chauvin, which 
happened in the ensuing year, Pierre Dugast, Sieur 
de Monts, a calvinist, and gentleman of the bed- 
chamber to Henry IV., received a patent, conferring 
on him the exclusive trade and government of the 
territory, situate between the 40° and 54° of lat. - y 
and, although of the reformed religion, the Sieur 
was enjoined to convert the native Indians to the 
Roman Catholic tenets. De Monts continued the 
company founded by his predecessors, and fitted out 
an expedition in 1604 of four vessels, two of which 
were destined for Acadia, then an object of attrac- 
tion. Suffice it to say, that trading posts were esta- 
blished at several places ; the fur trade prosperously 
carried on the Acadian colony neglected 5 and 
Quebec, the capital of the future New France, 
founded by Samuel Champlain on the 3rd July, 
1608. The various Indian tribes contiguous to 
the new settlement, namely, the Algonquins, the 
Hurons, &c. who were at war with the Iroquois, 
or Five Nations, solicited and obtained the aid of 
the French 5 Champlain taught them the use of 
fire-arms, which the Iroquois also acquired from 
their English friends in the adjacent territory 
and hence began the ruinous wars, which have 
ended in the nearly total extermination of the In- 
dians of the North American Continent, wherever 



HISTORY. 



9 



they have come in contact with the Europeans and 
their descendants. But little success attended the 
first colonization on the banks of the St. Lawrence 5 
in 1622, 14 years after its establishment, Quebec 
had not a population exceeding 50 souls.* The 
mischievous policy of making religion (and that of 
the Jesuit caste) a part of the colonial policy, long 
hampered the French settlers 5 and to remedy the 
distressed condition of the colony, the commerce of 
Canada, heretofore vested in the hands of one or 
two individuals, was transferred in 1627, to a power- 
ful association called the Company of a hundred 
partners, composed of clergy and laity, under the 
special management of the celebrated Cardinal 
Richelieu. The primary object of the Company 
was the conversion of the Indians to the Catholic 
faith, by means of zealous Jesuits 5 the secondary, 
an extension of the fur trade, of commerce gene- 
rally, and the discovery of a route to the Pacific Ocean 
and to China, through the great rivers and lakes of 
New France. 

This company held Canada, or New France, with 
the extensive privileges of a feudal seigniory under 
the King, to whom were owing fealty and homage, 
and the presentation of a crown of gold at every 
new accession to the throne 3 with the right of soil, 
a monopoly of trade was granted, the King reserving 
for the benefit of all his subjects, only the cod and 
whale fisheries in the gulf and coasts of St. Law- 

* The first child born in Quebec of French parents was the 
son of Abraham Martin and Margaret L'Anglois ; it was chris- 
tened Eustache on the 24th October, 1621. 



10 



THE CANADAS. 



rence j and to such colonists as might not be ser- 
vants of the company, was secured the right of 
trading with the Indians for peltries (skins), it 
being understood that, on pain of confiscation, they 
should bring all their beaver skins to the factors 
of the company, who were bound to purchase 
them at 40 sous a piece. Under the new system, 
" Protestants and other Heretics," as well as Jews, 
were entirely excluded from the colony, and a Jesuit 
corps was to be supported by the Company. Thus 
monopoly and bigotry went hand- in-hand, and no 
auspicious Providence attended the efforts of such a 
selfish and fanatic project. 

The very first vessels despatched by the new re- 
ligio -commercial- company for Quebec, were cap- 
# tured by the English. In 1628 a squadron of 
English vessels, under the command of Sir David 
Kertk, a French refugee, visited Tadoussac, and de- 
stroyed the houses and cattle about Cape Tourmente ; 
Kertk and his little band next proceeded to Gasp6 
bay, where he met M. De Roquemont, one of the 
hundred partners, commanding a squadron of ves- 
sels, freighted with emigrant families, and all kinds 
of provisions : Roquemont was provoked to a bat- 
tle, and lost the whole of his fleet, provisions, &c. j 
and the last hope of the colony of Quebec was 
blasted by the shipwreck of two Jesuit missionaries, 
on the coast of Nova Scotia, in a vessel laden with 
provisions for the starving colonists, who were now 
reduced to an allowance of five oz. of bread per day. 
Kertk, reinforced by some more English vessels, 
commanded by his two brothers, sent them up the St. 



HISTORY. 



11 



Lawrence, when they easily captured Quebec, on the 
20th July, 1629 : and, on the 20th October, Cham- 
plain arrived at Plymouth, on his return to France, 
most of his countrymen having however remained 
in Canada. While Quebec was being captured by 
Kertk and his English squadron, peace was under 
ratification between England and France 3 and in 
1632, (the latter power having previously opened a 
negotiation with England), Quebec, Acadia (Nova 
Scotia), and Isle Royal (Cape Breton), were ceded 
to France, and Champlain resumed the government 
of Canada. The Jesuits, with their accustomed zeal, 
commenced anew their efforts 5 and from this period 
to the final British conquest in 1760, a rivalship 
and growing hostility, partly religious and partly 
commercial, took place between the French and 
English settlers in North America, which were evinced 
by mutual aggressions, while profound peace existed 
between their respective sovereigns in Europe. 

In 1644 Montreal was ceded to the religious order 
of Sulpicians of Paris, whose property it became, 
and the gradual breaking down of the monopoly of 
the 100 partners, encouraged the spread of coloniza- 
tion and an attention to agriculture, instead of an 
exclusive consideration for the precarious traffic in 
furs. In 1663 the proceedings of the company be- 
came so obnoxious, that the King of France decided 
upon the immediate resumption of his rights, and 
the erecting of Canada into a royal government : 
Monsieur de Mesy was appointed governor, and 
proceeded from France to Quebec with 400 regular 



12 



THE CANADAS. 



troops 3 and 100 families as settlers, with cattle, 
horses, and implements of agriculture. 

Under the Royal jurisdiction, the Governor, a 
King's Commissioner, an Apostolical Vicar, and 
four other Gentlemen, were formed into a Sovereign 
Council, to whom were confided the powers of cog- 
nizance in all causes, civil and criminal, to judge in 
the last resort according to the laws and ordinances 
of France, and the practice of the Parliament of Paris, 
reserving the general legislative powers of the Crown, 
to be applied according to circumstances. This 
Council was further invested with the regulation of 
commerce, the expenditure of the public monies, 
and the establishment of inferior Courts at Three 
Rivers and Montreal. 

This change of Canada, from an ecclesiastical 
mission to a secular government, was owing to 
the great Colbert, who was animated by the example 
of Great Britain, to improve the navigation and 
commerce of his country by colonial establishments. 
The enlightened policy of this renowned finan- 
cial Minister of Louis XIV. was followed by the 
success which it deserved. To a regulated civil go- 
vernment was added increased military protection 
against the Iroquois Indians ; the emigration of 
French settlers to New France was promoted by 
every possible means 5 and a martial spirit was im- 
parted to the population, by the location in the 
colony of the disbanded soldiers of the Carignan 
regiment (consisting of 1000 foot,) and other troops, 
whose officers became the principal seigneurs of the 



HISTORY. 



13 



colony, on condition of making cessions of land 
under the feudal tenure, as it still exists, to the sol- 
diers and other inhabitants. The ambitious projects 
of Louis XIV. require no comment. They were not 
confined to Europe, but embraced every part of 
the globe, wherever the wily monarch or politic 
Colbert thought it practicable for Frenchmen to find 
a footing. With this view, the French West India 
Company was re- modelled, and Canada added to 
their possessions, subordinate to the crown of France, 
with powers controlled by His Majesty's Governors 
and Intendants in the different Colonies. The royal 
edict, conferring civil and military powers on the 
West India Company, similar to those granted to 
our East India Company, after stating the motives 
of the sovereign, thus proceeds : — 

' We hereby establish a West India Company, to be com- 
posed of persons already interested in the Continent of Ame- 
rica, and others of our subjects who may wish to become 
stockholders, for the purpose of carrying on the commerce of 
that country 7 , from the river Amazon to the Oronoco ; likewise 
the islands Antilles (possessed by Frenchmen), Canada, L'Aca- 
die, both continent and islands, from the North of Canada to 
Virginia and Florida ; also the coast of Africa, from Cape Verd 
to the Cape of Good Hope, so far as the said Company may be 
able to penetrate, whether the said countries may now apper- 
tain to us, as being, or having been, occupied by Frenchmen, 
or in so far as the said Company shall establish itself by ex- 
terminating or conquering the natives or colonists of such 
European nations as are not our allies.' 

The following curious particulars shew more 
clearly the object and intentions of the founders of 
this once celebrated Company : — 



14 



THE CANADAS. 



1 . 1 The Company is bound to carry out a sufficient number 
of priests, and to build churches and houses for their accom- 
modation, and for the performance of their holy functions. 2. 
An interest in the Company should not derogate from the 
privileges of the nobility of the kingdom. 3. The stock or 
shares were made transferable, and the revenue or profits of 
them alone could be attached for debts owing by the holders, 
even to the King himself. 4. The Company was to enjoy a 
monopoly of the territories and the trade of the colonies thus 
conceded for 40 years : it was not only to enjoy the exclusive 
navigation, but his Majesty conferred a bounty of 30 livres on 
every ton of goods exported to France ; and such imported 
colonial merchandize as had paid the custom and other duties 
on consumption, could be re-exported by the Company, with- 
out any charge of export duty. 5. The company was not only 
endowed as seigneur with all the unconceded lands, but invested 
with the right of extinguishing the titles of seigniories granted 
or sold by previous companies, on condition of reimbursing 
the grantees and purchasers for their costs and improvements. 
6. The King assumed all claims of previous companies estab- 
lished in the colonies by himself or his predecessors ; and the 
new Company was invested with all the seigniorial rights and 
dues already borne by the inhabitants as seigniorial vassals, 
with power to commute or modify them, as well as to make 
new grants or sales. 7. The Company was to have a right to 
all mines and minerals, the power of levying and recruiting 
soldiers within the kingdom, manufacturing arms and ammu- 
nition for the defence of their possessions, building forts, and 
even declaring and carrying on war by sea and land against the 
native Indians or neighbouring foreign colonies, in case of 
insult. 8. To add to the splendour of the Company, a coat of 
arms was also granted; but it was ordered that when those 
arms should be affixed to warlike instruments and equipments, 
they should be surmounted by the royal arms of France. 9. 
The administration of justice was to be according to the laws 
and ordinances of the kingdom and the custom of Paris, and 
no other custom was to be introduced into the colonies. 10. 
To encourage emigration, as well as to gratify the present in- 



HISTORY. 



15 



habitants, all colonists and converts professing the Romish 
faith, were declared capable of enjoying the same rights in 
France and in the Colonies as if they had been born and re- 
sided within the kingdom. 11. Lastly, in this munificent 
edict, his Majesty agrees to advance one-tenth of the whole 
stock, without interest, for four years, subject to a proportion 
of all losses which might be incurred during that period by the 
Company 

As might have been expected, the proceedings of 
this Company soon excited general murmurs in Ca- 
nada and, in two years, namely on the 8th April, 
1666, the Royal Arr£t of the Council of State 
granted to the Canadians (as the French colonists 
are termed), the trade in furs, subject to an allow- 
ance of one-fourth of all beaver skins, and one-tenth 
of all buffalo skins, and the total reservation to the 
Company of the trade of Tadoussac, situate about 
75 miles below Quebec, at the mouth of the Sa- 
guenay river. This arrangement, although intended 
to diminish the temptation to smuggling, which ex- 
clusive privileges and high duties engender, failed 
to produce the expected result ; and the records of 
the colony present the usual routine of contraband 
artifices for evading the payment of heavy duties on 
merchandize. War was continued to be waged 
by the French colonists against the Iroquois, or 
Mohawk Indians (who were in alliance with the 
English colonists, then occupying the territories 
around New York) 5 and a French army, consisting 
of 28 companies of regular troops, and the whole 
militia of the colony, marched 700 miles from Quebec 
into theMohawk territory, during the depth of winter, 
for the purpose of utterly extirpating the Indians, 



16 



THE CANADAS. 



who, however, retired, leaving only a few women, 
children, and sachems (old men), who were merci- 
lessly slain by the disappointed Frenchmen. For 
purposes of military defence, forts were constructed 
at the mouths of the river Sorel and Chambly 3 and, 
by a royal edict, the Canadians were directed to con- 
centrate their settlements, no lands being permitted 
to be cleared or cultivated but such as were conti- 
guous to each other.* This circumstance accounts 
for the peculiar military style of the French Canadian 
townships, and is one of the causes of the S. E. 
frontier having been nearly deserted, and exposed to 
the territorial pretensions of the United States. 

Unhappily for the colonists, the Governor General 
(then more than 70 years of age) confirmed, in 1667, 
to the West India Company within Canada, the same 
rights, privileges, and authorities, as had been en- 
joyed by the unfortunate company of 100 partners 
before mentioned ; but Monsieur De Talon, the 
Intendant, a man of profound views, soon perceived 
that it was the natural interest of the Company to 
discourage colonization. He represented to the mi- 
nister Colbert the absolute necessity of the total 

* There was good cause for this edict, by reason of the re- 
taliation of the Iroquois for the murder of their wives and 
children, and the transportation of their warriors in chains to 
the galleys in France, whenever the French colonists could 
come upon their villages by surprize. The Marquis de Tracy 
made one incursion into an Iroquois settlement. The Indians 
saved themselves by flight ; but a few old men, women, and 
children, were slaughtered by the French, and the massacre 
was celebrated by a Te Deum, in the cathedral of Quebec, by 
order of the Governor General ! 



HISTORY. 



17 



resumption of the rights of the crown 5 drew his 
attention to the means of obtaining abundance of 
warlike instruments and naval stores within the 
colony, pointed out the iron mines of St. Maurice, 
the oak and pine masts on the borders of the St. 
Lawrence for ship building, the capabilities of the 
soil for growing abundance of hemp, &c, and, in 
fact, at last prevailed 5 so that, in 1674, the King of 
France resumed his rights to all the territories con- 
ceded to the West India Company, assumed their 
debts and the current value of their stock, and ap- 
pointed a Governor, Council, and Judges, for the 
direction of the Canadian colonies. 

A minute detail of local occurrences would be 
out of place in a work of this nature 5* it may be 
sufficient to say, that from this period (1674), when 
the population, embracing converted Indians, did not 
exceed 8,000, the French settlement in Canada 
rapidly progressed, and as it rose in power, and 
assumed offensive operations on the New England 
frontier, the jealousy of the British colonists became 
roused, and both parties, aided alternately by the 
Indians, carried on a destructive and harassing 
border warfare. And here it may not be amiss to 
observe, how much the progress of the British co- 
lonists in New York, New England, &c, and the 

* In 1682, the Mississipi (which the Canadian Indians had 
previously discovered to the French) was descended to the sea 
by M. de la Sales, and all the country watered by that mighty 
river taken nominal possession of in the name of Louis XIV., 
in honour of whom it was called Louisiana. 

VOL. I. C 



is 



THE CANADAS. 



prosperity of the French in Canada, were influenced 
during successive years by the strength and moral 
character of their respective sovereigns. I may 
allude, for instance, to the licentious reign of Louis 
XV., and the vigorous administration of William 
III., during whose governments the progress of 
their respective colonies was retarded or advanced 
by the example or stimulus afforded by the mother 
country ; thus demonstrating how much, under a 
monarchy, the character and happiness of nations are 
influenced by the principles and habits of their rulers. 

For many years, the French in Canada made head 
against the assaults of their less skilful, but more 
persevering neighbours, owing to the active co- 
operation and support which they received from 
their Indian allies, whom the British were by nature 
less adapted for conciliating ; but at length the 
latter, seeing the necessity of native co-operation, 
conciliated the favour of the aborigines, and turned 
the tide of success in their own favour. The hosti- 
lities waged by the Indians were dreadful. Setting 
little value on life, they fought with desperation, 
and gave no quarter , protected by the natural fast- 
nesses of their country, they chose in security, their 
own time for action, and when they had enclosed 
their enemies in a defile, or amidst the intricacies 
of the forest, the war whoop of the victor and the 
death shriek of the vanquished were almost simul- 
taneously heard 3 and while the bodies of the slain 
served for food* to the savage, the scalped head of 
* According to the French historians of the day. 



HISTORY. 



19 



the white man was a trophy of glory,, and a booty 
of no inconsiderable value to its possessor.* The 
Canadians themselves sometimes experienced the 
remorseless fury of their Indian forces. On the 
26th of July, 1688, Le Rat, a chief of the Huron 
tribe, mortified by the attempt of the French com- 
manders to negotiate a peace with the Iroquois 
or Five Nations, without consulting the wishes of 
their Huron allies, urged his countrymen, and even 
stimulated the Iroquois, to aid him in an attack on 
Montreal. The colonists were taken by surprize, a 
thousand of them slain, and the houses, crops, and 
cattle on the island destroyed. Charlevoix, in his 
history of La Nouvelle France, says of the Indians, 
' lis ouvrirent le sein des femmes enceintes pour en 
arracher le fruit qu' elles portoient, ils mirent des 
enfans tout vivant a la broche, et contraignirent les 
meres de les tourner pour les faire rotir !' The 
French, reinforced from Europe, sent a strong force 
in February, 1690, who massacred the greater part 
of the unresisting inhabitants of Shenectaday. Ac- 
cording to Golden, p. 78, the Indians whom the 
French took prisoners in the battle at Shenectaday, 
were cut into pieces and boiled to make soups for the 
Indian allies who accompanied the French ! Such 
were the desolating effects of European coloniza- 
tion on the continent of America, equalling, in fact, 
as regards the destruction of hum&n life, the miseries 

* For every human scalp delivered into the Canadian ^Yar 
Department, a sum of 40 livres was paid ; to our credit be it 
said, such barbarism was not pursued by the New England 
Colonies. 



20 



THE CAN AD AS. 



inflicted by the Spaniards on the more peaceful and 
feeble Indians of the West India islands. 

The massacre of the Indians at Shenectaday by 
the French, had the effect of inducing the Iroquois 
and other nations to become more closely attached 
to the English 5 and the French were compelled to 
act on the defensive, and keep within their own ter- 
ritory. Our countrymen at Albany were at first so 
much alarmed at the determined hostility of the 
French, that they prepared to abandon the territory ; 
but, at this crisis, the New England colonies came 
to an understanding, and formed a coalition for their 
mutual defence. Commissioners were sent to New 
York, and a mission despatched to London, explain- 
ing their views, and soliciting aid towards the 
successful completion of the naval and military 
expedition which was planned against the French 
settlements in Canada, in 1690. 

What a signal change had taken place in the 
views and relative position of the parties, when, but 
a few years after, those very colonists sent to France 
— whose dominion in Canada they had been the chief 
instruments in annihilating — for succour and support 
in their war of independence against Great Britain ! 

The plan of attack on Canada by the New Eng- 
land colonists, which they fitted out at an ex- 
pence of £, 150,000 (a heavy one to them at that 
period), was twofold — 1st, by land and inland navi- 
gation on the southern frontier of the French 5 and, 
2nd, by a fleet, under Sir W. Phipps, with a small 
army on board, which was sent round by sea from 
Boston to attack Quebec. The force of the English 



HISTORY. 



21 



was undisciplined 5 it consisted of colonists who 
were stimulated by deadly resentment to avenge the 
murder of their numerous relatives and friends., who 
had been slain by the French and their Indian allies. 
Quebec was formally summoned by Sir W. Phipps 
to surrender, and bravely defended by the Sieur de 
Frontenac, who compelled his foes to return to 
Boston with considerable loss in ships and men, 
owing to the delay and bad management of the 
commander, who, had he persevered in his efforts^ 
would undoubtedly have starved out the garrison. 
The attack on Quebec by land, had, without waiting 
for co-operating with the fleet, previously failed 5 so 
that the French were thus enabled to meet and de- 
feat 'their enemies in detail, a policy which a good 
general, when assailed by superior numbers, will 
usually adopt. 

The French, feeling secure in their dominions, 
pushed forward their out-posts with vigour by means 
of the fur traders,* and more than ever alarmed 

* The fur trade, which so long excited the cupidity and 
hostility of the English and French in their early intercourse 
with the American continent, is thus described by the intelli- 
gent writer of a pamphlet printed and published in Canada, in 
1828, relating to the political annals of the colony. — It con- 
sisted of two parts: 1st. The trade carried on at the great 
annual fairs in the cities, particularly in Montreal, where the 
Indians themselves brought their furs to market. This local 
trade was open to all the colonists, subject to a contribution 
of one fourth of the beaver, and one tenth of the buffalo skins, 
to the French King, which right his Majesty farmed out to 
certain patentees, or farmers general. These farmers general, 
by an abuse common in French finances, contrived to purcha.se 
most of the furs, but more particularly the beaver and buffalo, 



2<2 



THE CANADAS. 



the contiguous English colonists, who now became 
daily convinced of the impossibility of both nations 

from the merchants, blending together into one transaction 
the receipt of the contribution, and the purchase of the re- 
mainder ; and this species of monopoly continued till the year 
1701, when the merchants obtained a royal edict for the es- 
tablishment of a company, to consist of all persons willing to 
become associates, for shares of 50 livres each. Holders of 
20 shares were entitled to deliberate in all meetings, and might 
be chosen Directors of the Company. The whole of the beaver 
trade, and the claims of the Crown upon it, were granted for 
the consideration of an annual contribution to the Colonial 
Treasury of 60,000 livres. With the combined views of check- 
ing the contraband trade to New York, and encouraging the 
exertions of the inland, traders, a liberal minimum price in 
money was fixed by this edict for beaver skins, distinguished 
into three qualities, averaging 2 livres 13 sous, or about 25. 3d. 
sterling, per pound. 2nd. The second part of this trade ex- 
tended to the distant posts and places, whence the Indians 
could not be expected to bring their furs to the Montreal 
fair. Licenses were granted to carry on this trade, as a royal 
bounty to old officers, or to the poor gentry of the colony, 
which they sold to the inland traders. The extent of trade 
allowed to each license was merchandize to the amount of one 
thousand crowns, to carry which, and to convey the returns, 
the purchaser of the license was bound to employ two canoes, 
with crews of six men in each. The seller of the license had 
also the right of furnishing merchandize suitable for this trade, 
to the amount before mentioned, at an advance of 15 per cent. 
upon the market price, making, with the annual price of the 
license, namely, six hundred crowns, a handsome income, in 
those times of comparative economy. A successful adventure, 
under such a license, generally gave to the merchant a profit 
of 400 per cent, on the merchandize, and 600 crowns to each 
of the canoe-men. But an essential part of this regulated 
trade should be more particularly alluded to : the canoe-men 
were not only entitled to provisions and clothing, but interested 
in the result of the adventure, by having a legal right to divide 



HISTORY. 



23 



remaining- as rivals on the same continent ; the 
French seeking dominion by military power and 
conquest — the English by an extension of the arts 
of peace, aided by a liberal spirit. The latter, 
therefore, resolved on using' every possible means 
for the total expulsion of their Gallic neighbours 
from Canada, who refused the offer made to them 
to remain pacific while the mother countries were 
at war. The main object of Frontenac was to take 
possession of every point calculated to extend the 
dominion of France ; to cut off the English from 

the surplus of the returns, after the cost of license, merchan- 
dize, and 400 per cent, profit to the merchant, had been reim- 
bursed. Those privileges excited a spirit of enterprise among the 
young colonists ; and almost every father of a family looked to 
the inland fur trade as a means of regular employment to part 
of his children. This employment had also peculiar attractions ; 
and the canoe-man, though originally intending merely to obtain 
a little money to be employed in clearing and stocking a farm, 
frequently dissipated his share of the returns, and undertook 
another voyage. In this manner, the avails of the fur trade 
were not so subservient to colonization as the King expected ; 
but they must have contributed something towards the im- 
provement of the country ; and, in a political point of view, 
the effects of this trade upon the colonial population were 
important, in breeding up a class of men familiarised with the 
dangers and privations of a long inland navigation, and fitting 
them to co-operate with the Indian allies of France in har- 
rassing the British colonies. The brilliant accounts given by 
the canoe-men of the scenes which they had visited, combined 
with the military spirit diffused among the settlers by the dis- 
banded soldiers, rendered the Canadian militia ambitious to 
accompany the regular forces in desultory warfare ; and, fo r 
many years before the conquest, it was the common boast of a 
Canadian, that he had been employed in an expedition agains 
the English on the Belle Riviere or Ohio. 



24 



TJZE CANADAS. 



the fur trade ; and, finally, to hem them in between 
the Highlands of Nova Scotia and the Alleghany 
Mountains. He began by checking the incursions 
of the Iroquois, whom he weakened so much by 
destructive warfare, and hemmed so closely in by a 
judicious distribution of military stations or forts, 
as to prevent them ever after from making an im- 
pression on Canada, such as they had been wont to 
produce. Frontenac's next step was' the prepara- 
tion, in 1697, of a large armament to co-operate 
with a strong force from France, which was destined 
for the conquest of New York ; but while the brave 
and active Canadian Governor was preparing to take 
the field, the news arrived of the treaty of peace 
between France and England, concluded at Ryswick, 
1 1th Sept. 1697, much to the dissatisfaction of 
Frontenac, who died in the following year. 

The renewal of the war between Great Britain 
and France in May, 1702, soon led to acrimony and 
hostility in America $ and the cruel persecutions of 
the Protestants in France caused a religious animo- 
sity to be superadded to the hatred entertained by the 
New Englanders towards their neighbours, whose 
numbers had now increased to about 15,000. In 1708 
the Marquis de Vaudreuil carried his operations into 
the British frontier settlements, having previously 
negociated for the neutrality of the Iroquois, who were 
flattered by being treated as an independent power $ 
but the destruction of the village of Haverhill, and 
the massacre of some of its inhabitants, compelled 
the Canadians again to assume a defensive position. 
The New Englanders made every preparation for an 
attack on Montreal by land $ but the English forces 



HISTORY". 



25 



destined for the co-operation by the St. Lawrence ri- 
ver were required for Portugal j and thus the Marquis 
de Vaudreuil had time to make better preparations 
for defence. The ensuing year (1709) was spent 
by the English in reducing Acadia, now Nova Scotia ; 
and when the combined land and sea expedition 
against Canada took place in 1711, it was so ill-ma- 
naged, and the British fleet, owing to tempestuous 
weather and ignorance of the coast, met with so 
many disasters, losing by shipwreck in one day (the 
9,2nd of August), 8 transports, 884 officers, soldiers, 
and seamen, that the expedition returned to Boston, 
and the restoration of peace between France and 
England by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, left the 
former yet a little longer to harrass and molest 
the British colonists along the Canadian frontier.* 
The Marquis de Vaudreuil availed himself of the 
peace to strengthen the fortifications of Quebec and 
Montreal ; the training of the military — amounting 
to 5,000 in a population of 2 5,000 1 — was carefully 
attended to — barracks were constructed — and a di- 
rect assessment levied on the inhabitants for the sup- 
port of the troops and the erection of fortifications. 
During ten years of foreign and internal tranquillity, 
the trade and property of Canada made rapid pro- 
gress ; in 1723, 19 vessels cleared from Quebec, 
laden with peltries, lumber, stones, tar, tobacco, 

* So impregnable was Quebec then considered, that the 
"Whigs of that day made its attempted capture one of the arti- 
cles of impeachment against Harley, Earl of Oxford. 

t Quebec in 1720 had a population of 7,000, and Montreal 
of 3,000. 



26 



THE CAN ADAS. 



flour, pease, pork, &c. ; and six merchant ships and 
two men of war were built in the colony. 

The death of the Marquis de Vaudreuil in October, 
1725, was deservedly lamented by the Canadians. 
He was succeeded in 1726 by the Marquis de Beau- 
harnois, (a natural son of Louis XIV.) whose ambi- 
tious administration excited yet more the alarm and 
jealousy of the English colonists of New York and 
New England, while the intrigues of the Jesuits with 
the Indians, contributed not a little to bring about 
the final struggle for dominion on the American 
Continent, between the two most powerful nations 
of Europe. 

The war between Great Britain and France in 
1745, led to the reduction in that year of Cape Bre- 
ton, by a British naval and military force, combined 
with the provincial troops of the New England Co- 
lonies j but the successful battle of Fontenoy roused 
the martial spirit of the Canadians to attempt the 
re-conquest of Nova Scotia, in 1746 and 1747, in 
which they failed, and the treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle 
in 1748 suspended further hostilities. Commission- 
ers were then appointed to settle a boundary line 
between the British and French territories in North 
America. 

The object of the French was to confine the Eng- 
lish within the boundary of the Alleghany moun- 
tains, and prevent their approach to the Lakes, the 
St. Lawrence, the Mississippi, (where the former 
were now establishing themselves), and their tribu- 
tary streams. The Canadian Government, without 
any authority from home, and accompanied by a 



HISTORY. 



27 



display of military pomp, calculated to impress on 
the minds of the Indians the idea that France would 
assert her territorial right to the limits marked, pro- 
ceeded to survey the projected line of demarcation 
between the possessions of France and those which 
the Canadian Governor was pleased, in his liberality, 
to assign to England 5 leaden plates, bearing the 
royal arms of France, were sunk at proper distances, 
and the whole ceremony was concluded with much 
formality. Such an imprudent step, it may be ima- 
gined, seriously alarmed the Indians, as well as the 
English, and terminated in their active co-operation 
for the utter expulsion of the French from North 
America. 

In pursuance of the line of policy marked out by 
the French counsels at home and in Canada, the 
Jesuits were employed to intrigue with the Acadians 
or descendants of the early French inhabitants, with 
the view of prevailing on them to quit Nova Scotia, 
and resort to a military post now established beyond 
its frontier, on the Canada side, where a new colony 
was to be formed, in aid of which the royal sanction 
was granted for an appropriation of 800,000 livres. 
Cornwallis, the Governor of Nova Scotia, soon con- 
vinced the French that he was aware of their pro- 
ceedings he caused a fort to be erected opposite 
the French, near the Bay of Fundy, on the side of 
the river Beaubassin 5 placed it under the command 
of Major Laurence, and caused to be captured at the 
mouth of the St. John river, a vessel laden with 
supplies for the French. While these measures were 
in progress, the French commenced enforcing their 



THE CAN ADAS. 



power along* the line of demarcation they had marked 
out ; three individuals who had licenses to trade 
from their respective English Governors with the 
Indians on the Ohio were seized by the French, and 
carried prisoners to Montreal, whence, after severe 
treatment and strict examination, they were at length 
liberated, with injunctions not to trespass on the 
French territories. 

The intrigues of the Jesuits with the Iroquois to 
detach them from the English, were so far successful 
that the Indians permitted the French to erect the 
fort La Presentation, near their border ; and, but 
for the perseverance and wonderful influence of Sir 
William Johnston, the wily character of the Cana- 
dians, would have gone far to frustrate the confe- 
deracy forming between the English and Indians for 
the expulsion of the French 5 whose downfall was 
ultimately occasioned by the corruption that pre- 
vailed within the colony, and the scandalous jobs that 
the very highest authorities not only winked at but 
profited by. The arrival of the Marquis du Quesne 
de Menneville, in 1752, as Governor of Canada, Lou- 
isiana, Cape Breton, St. John's and their Dependen- 
cies, gave indications that hostilities might soon be 
expected in Europe 5 and the activity of the Marquis 
was displayed* in training and organizing the mili- 
tia for internal defence 5 detachments of regulars, 

* In this year a 74 gun-ship was built for the government in 
Canada, but owing to some mismanagement she was hogged in 
launching near Cape Diamond. Two cargoes of Canadian wheat 
were shipped at the same period for Marseilles ; the arrival of 
which was very justly hailed with great satisfaction in France. 



HISTORY. 



<29 



militia, and Indians, were despatched to the Ohio 5 
fort Du Quesne (actually within the Virginia terri- 
tory,) and other posts were erected, with a view of 
keeping the English within the Apalachian or Alle- 
ghany Mountains 3 and from Ticonderago, Crown 
Point, and Fort Niagara, the most ferocious attacks 
were made on the peaceable English settlers,* not- 
withstanding the treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle in 1/48. 
The British, though still acting on the defensive, 
were not idle ; a fort was built in the vicinity of Du 
Quesne, quaintly termed Necessity, and a garrison 
was despatched from Virginia, under the command 
of George Washington, whose name has since be- 
come so illustrious, and who then held a Lieut. - 
Colonel's commission. Washington on his march 
to assume the command of Fort Necessity, was met 
by a reconnoitring party from Du Quesne fort, under 
M. de Jumonviiie, who peremptorily forbad the 
English to proceed further. The mandate was an- 
swered by a burst of indignation, and a volley of 
musquetry, which killed Jumonviiie and several of 
his men. The French commandant at Du Quesne, 
Monsieur Contrecceur, quickly commenced offensive 
hostilities 5 invested Necessity, and obliged Washing- 

* It was at this period that the remarkable convention of the 
British colonists (then vulnerable, owing to their separate local 
governments) was held at Albany in July, 1754, when Benjamin 
Franklin produced a plan for the union of the States, establish- 
ing a quota, and levying men and money, throughout the dif- 
ferent Colonies to resist the French ; indeed, though not then 
acted on, this document was the basis of the federal union sub- 
sequently formed for the overthrow of the British' dominion. 



.so 



THE CANADAS. 



ton to capitulate. England at that time was preparing 
for an open war with France, which the ambition of 
Frederick of Prussia and the state of Europe soon 
rendered general. A strong fleet, with troops and 
warlike munition, was despatched to reinforce Que- 
bec 5 an English fleet pursued it, but succeeded in 
capturing only two frigates, with the engineers and 
troops on board, cn the banks of Newfoundland. 

In 1755, the Marquis Du Quesne having resigned, 
he was succeeded, in July, by the last French go- 
vernor in Canada, the Marquis de Vaudreuil de 
Cavagnal, whose administration was auspiciously 
opened by the defeat of the brave but rash General 
Braddock, on the 9th July, 1?55, in one of the 
defiles of the Alleghany Mountains. Braddock, ac- 
customed to European, rather than to Indian war- 
fare, neglected every precaution of scouts and ad- 
vance posts 5 and refused to make any preparations 
against the French and their Indian allies, who, when 
the enemy had entered a gorge, where retreat was 
almost impossible, poured from their ambuscades 
on the devoted British a deadly fire, under which 
the soldiers of the unfortunate Braddock fell rapidly, 
without even the satisfaction of seeing or meeting 
their foes. The death of their leader was the signal 
that further advance was hopeless 5 and, to the credit 
of George Washington, the second in command, he 
succeeded in rescuing the remainder of the British 
army, who were afterwards joined by 6,000 provin- 
cial troops, under General Johnston and Governor 
Shirley. Johnston, with the intention of investing 
Crown Point, joined General Lyman near Lake 



HISTORY. 



31 



George, where they were attacked by 3,000 French, 
commanded by the Baron Deiskau. After a battle 
of four hours' duration, the French retreated to 
Crown Point, with a loss of 1,000 men, and the cap- 
ture of their leader, who was severely wounded. 
This success restored the drooping spirits of the 
British army, and helped to train the provincials, 
(who were brigaded along with the regular troops) 
for those contests which they were soon to wage 
for their independence with the very men by whose 
side they now fought hand to hand against the 
French — their subsequent allies. Little did Wash- 
ington then contemplate the destiny that awaited him. 

The campaign of 1755 was closed in October by 
the British retiring to Albany, after reinforcing the 
garrison of Oswego, but without any attack on 
Crown Point. France, fully aware of the impor- 
tance of Canada, sent out early in the ensuing year 
a large body of chosen troops under the command 
of the gallant and experienced Major- General the 
Marquis de Montcalm, who soon invested Fort Os- 
wego and compelled the garrison to surrender. In 
the next year's campaign (1757), success still sig- 
nalized the progress of the French arms : Fort 
George was invested and captured 3 and the English 
prisoners, amounting to nearly 2,000 regular troops 
of H. M.'s service, were brutally massacred while 
on their march to Fort Edward, by the Indian allies 
of the French — the latter asserting or pretending 
that they were, through inability or neglect, inca- 
pacitated from preventing the perpetration of this 
horrid slaughter. The feelings with which the news 



32 



THE CAN AD AS. 



of this monstrous deed were received in England 
and throughout British America may well be con- 
ceived ; it helped to hasten the downfall of the 
French dominion in Canada, the deepest abhorrence 
being excited against those who permitted or sanc- 
tioned such a diabolical act. The elder Pitt (after- 
wards Earl of Chatham) , then at the head of affairs, 
and in the full blaze of his eloquence, infused a fine 
spirit into His Majesty's counsels, and so wielded 
the resources and energies of the nation, that the 
effects were speedily felt in America. 

France reinforced her Canadian garrisons : and 
England opened the campaign of 1759 with a plan 
of combined operations by sea and land, somewhat, 
if not mainly, formed on the plan adopted in 1690, 
and already detailed. The invasion of Canada was 
to take place at three different points under three 
generals of high talent ; that destined for Quebec 
being considered the chief. The forces for the latter 
place were under the command of the heroic General 
Wolfe, and amounted to about 8,000 men, chiefly 
drawn from the army which, under the same com- 
mander, had taken Fort Louisburg in Cape Breton, 
and subdued the whole island in the preceding year. 
Wolfe's army was conveyed to the vicinity of Que- 
bec by a fleet of vessels of war and transports, com- 
manded by Admiral Saunders,* and was landed in two 
divisions on the island of Orleans, 27th June, 1759. 
The Marquis de Montcalm made vigorous prepara- 

* The naval forces for the service of N. America consisted 
of 20 sail of the line, 2 ships of 50 guns, 12 frigates, and 14 
smaller vessels. 



HISTORY. 



83 



tions for defending Quebec — his armed force con- 
sisted of about 13,000 men, of whom six battalions 
were regulars, and the remainder well disciplined 
Canadian militia, with some cavalry and Indians $ 
and his army was ranged from the river St. Law- 
rence to the falls of Montmorenci, with the view of 
opposing the landing of the British forces. A few 
ships of war, including fire-ships, assisted De Mont- 
calm. The skilful disposition of the French com- 
mander was shewn in the failure of the British at- 
tack on the intrenchments at Montmorenci, where 
the British lost 182 killed and 450 wounded, includ- 
ing 1 1 officers killed and 46 wounded In consequence 
of this repulse, Wolfe sent despatches to England 
stating that he had doubts of being able to reduce 
Quebec during that campaign. 

Prudence and foresight are the characteristics of 
a good general as well as of an able statesman — Wolfe 
called a council of war — he shewed that the fire of 
his ships of war had done little damage to the cita- 
del, though the lower town had been nearly destroyed 
— that further attacks on the Montmorenci entrench- 
ments were useless 5 it was therefore proposed, as 
the only hope of success, to gain the heights of 
Abraham behind and above the city, commanding the 
weakest point of the fortress. * The council, com- 
posed of the principal naval and military command- 
ers, acceded to this daring proposal 5 and their heroic 
leader commenced his operations on the memorable 
morning of the 13th September, 1759, with an ad- 

* The honour of this suggestion is claimed by General 
Townshend's family for their distinguished ancestor. 

VOL. I. D 



34 



THE CAN AD AS. 



dress, secresy and silence that have perhaps never been 
equalled $ * De Montcalm found all his vigilance un- 
availing to guard this important pass — he lost his 
usual prudence and forbearance, and finding his op- 
ponent had gained so much by hazarding all, he, 
with an infatuation for which it is impossible to ac- 
count, resolved to meet the British in battle array on 
the plains of Abraham. The French sallied forth 
from a strong fortress without field artillery — with- 
out even waiting for the return of a large force of 
2,000 men detached as a corps of observation under 
de Bougainville— and with a heat and precipitation 
as remarkable as were the coolness and preci- 
sion of the British. The eagle eye of Wolfe saw 
that to him retreat was almost impossible 3 but, 
while directing his main attention to the steady ad- 
vance of his right division, he skilfully covered his 
fianks, and endeavoured to preserve their communi- 
cation with the shore. Both armies may be said to 
have been without artillery, the French having only 
two guns, and the English a light cannon, which the 
sailors dragged up the heights with ropes 5 the sabre 
and the bayonet accordingly decided the day, and never 
was the nervous strength of the British arm better 
wielded. f The agile Scotch Highlanders, with their 
stout claymores, served the purposes of cavalry, and 

* So difficult was the ascent that the soldiers had to climb 
the precipice by the aid of the branches of shrubs, and roots 
of trees growing among the rocks. 

t The British regiments employed were the 15th, 22nd, 28th, 
35th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 58th, 60th, (2nd and 3rd 
battalions), and 78th, and a corps of rangers. 



HISTORY. 



35 



the steady fire of the English fusileers compensated 
in some degree for the want of artillery. The 
French fought with a desperation heightened by the 
fanaticism to which their priests had excited them 
against the English heretics, while the heroism of 
De Montcalm was as conspicuous as that of his 
illustrious opponent j both headed their men — both 
rushed with eagerness wherever the battle raged most 
fiercely, and often by their personal prowess and 
example changed the fortune of the moment 3 — both 
were repeatedly wounded,* but still fought with an 
enthusiasm which those only who have mixed in the 
heady current of battle can conceive, — in fine, both 
those gallant commanders fell mortally wounded, 
while advancing on the last deadly charge, at the 
head of their respective columns. — Wolfe, faint 
with the loss of blood, reeled, and leant against the 
shoulder of one of his officers — the purple stream 
of life was ebbing — the eye that but a few moments 
before beamed bright with glory, waxed dim, and 
he was sinking to the earth when the cry of ' they 
run ! — -they run /' arrested his fleeting spirit.- — ' Who 
run ?* exclaimed the dying hero — c The French, re- 
turned his supporter — ' Then I die contented ! ' were 
the last words of a Briton who expired in the arms 

* Wolfe charged at the head of the grenadiers of the 22nd, 
40th and 45th regiments, who had acquired the honourable 
title of Louisburgh grenadiers : he was first wounded in the 
wrist — the second ball struck him in the groin — but though 
sulfering from fever and dysentery, he still pressed on until he 
feii mortally wounded from a ball in the breast. 



36 



THE CANADAS. 



of victory. The chivalrous Montcalm also perished — 
rejoicing in his last moments that he should not live 
to witness the surrender of Quebec — and both the 
conquerors and the conquered joined in deploring 
their respective national loss.* 

The capture of Quebec may be said to have decided 
the fate of the French dominion in Canada 5 f the com- 
templated junction of the invading British forces took 
place at Montreal in September, 1760 ; the garrison 
of Quebec capitulated on the 18th of that month, and 
by the treaty between France and England in 1763, 
the former resigned all further pretensions to Canada 
and Nova Scotia, thus losing at one blow T every acre 
of her North American dominions. 

The population of Canada, on its conquest by the 

* The loss on our side was in killed — 1 general, 1 captain, 
6 lieutenants, 1 ensign, 3 Serjeants, and 45 rank and file ; in 
wounded — 1 brigadier-general, 4 staff officers, 12 captains, 26 
lieutenants, 10 engineers, 25 Serjeants, 4 drummers, and 506 
rank and file. The French loss was about 1,500. 

f A battle took place in the vicinity of Quebec 28th April, 
1760, between General Murray, who had been left with a gar- 
rison of 5,000 men, and who quitted his fortress with 3,000 
troops to give battle to the Chevalier De Levi, who had 
collected an army of regulars and militia amounting to 12,000 
men ; the battle was furiously fought for two hours, but 
overpowered by numbers, the English were compelled to re- 
turn to Quebec, with the loss of 1,000 men and all their field 
artillery. The French, however, lost 2,500 men. De Levi 
besieged Quebec, but the arrival of a small squadron with 
troops relieved the siege, and compelled the precipitate retreat 
of De Levi. Montreal capitulated to General Amherst on 
the 8th Sept. 1760. 



HISTORY. 



3? 



British, was about 65,000, inhabiting a narrow strip 
of land on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and chiefly 
employed in agriculture ; no people ever had juster 
cause of gratitude for the cession of the country 
to Great Britain than the Canadians. Bigot, the in- 
tendant, or king's financier, and his creatures, plun- 
dered the colonists in every direction 5 a paper cur- 
rency termed card-money, founded on the responsi- 
bility of the King of France, for the general support 
of the civil and military establishments of the colony, 
and which, from having been faithfully redeemed 
during a period of thirty years, enjoyed unlimited 
credit, enabled Bigot to conceal for a long time 
his waste and peculations ; and while the British 
were capturing Canada by force of arms, the French 
monarch was destroying the commerce and pros- 
pects of his subjects by dishonouring the bills of 
exchange of the intendant, to whom he had granted 
absolute power 5 thus involving in ruin not only the 
holders of 12,000,000 livres (,£500,000 sterling), 
but also those who possessed any paper currency, 
which at the conquest amounted to £4,000,000 ster- 
ling, the only compensation received for which, was 
four per cent, on the original value. 

Civil and religious liberty was granted to the 
Canadians 5 and in the words of the writer of the 
Political Annals of Canada, e previous history af- 
fords no example of such forbearance and genero- 
sity on the part of the conquerors towards the con- 
quered, — forming such a new era in civilized war- 
fare that an admiring world admitted the claim of 
Great Britain to the glory of conquering a people, 



33 



THE CAN AD AS. 



less from views of ambition and the security of her 
other colonies, than from the hope of improving 
their situation and endowing them with the privileges 
of freemen." 

Although the English had obtained possession of 
Canada from the French, they were soon obliged to 
contend for its preservation with those who had 
assisted them to capture it — I allude to the British 
colonists who had now, (1775) cast off their alle- 
giance to the mother country, rather than submit to 
be taxed * without being represented in the Imperial 
Senate. 

I am forbidden by the nature of my work to de- 
tail the operations of the war between England 
and the revolted colonists of New England, &c. but 
the general reader will probably desire to peruse 
briefly the operations that took place in Canada 
during this eventful period. 

The New Englanders and their fellow- colonists, 
now separated from Great Britain, and hereafter to 
be styled Americans, had no sooner established their 
independence, than they attempted to seize on Ca- 
nada, which but a few years before they had aided 
England in conquering from the French. About the 
close of the summer of 1775, the American forces 
invaded Canada by Lake Champlain, and from the 
sources of the Kennebec river. The first division of 
the American army, under the command of Briga- 
dier-General Montgomery, was remarkably success- 

* The money which it was endeavoured to levy was to assist 
in defraying the great expense incurred in the capture of 
Canada. — "What a strange concatenation of events t 



HISTORY. 



39 



ful 5 Montreal, Chambly, St. John's, Longueuil, and 
other posts of importance at that time, fell into their 
hands, and all the military stores and provisions at 
Montreal and on the rivers were captured by the 
Americans. 

The second division of the American army under 
Colonel Arnold, traversing with dreadful fatigue the 
forests and swamps in the district of Maine, arrived 
at Satagan on the 4th November, and on the 8th 
reached Point Levi, opposite Quebec, on the south 
shore of the St. Lawrence. Quebec was at this mo- 
ment almost defenceless, and had General Arnold 
been able to cross the river, the capital and with it 
the territory of the Canadas must have passed into 
the hands of the Americans. General Carleton, the 
British Governor, was at this time occupied with his 
troops near Montreal, in endeavouring to repulse the 
attacks of General Montgomery, who had made him- 
self master of that city, and was also endeavouring to 
effect a junction with the second division of the army 
under Arnold. The British General perceiving that 
the safety of the province depended on the possession 
of Quebec, effected a masterly movement, and ar- 
rived at the citadel on the 1 9th November without 
interruption from Arnold's army, which had crossed 
the St. Lawrence a short distance above Quebec, 
taken possession of the environs., and finally en- 
camped at Pointe Aux Trembles, 21 miles from 
Quebec, awaiting the arrival of Montgomery from 
Montreal before he attacked the fortress. 

General Carleton's arrival in Quebec was hailed 
with great joy j the Canadians vied with the oldest 



40 



THE CANADA S. 



British soldiers in preparations for defence and his 
little garrison of 1,800 men (of whom only 350 
were regulars, 450 seamen, and the remainder a 
gallant hand of Canadian militia and armed arti- 
ficers), awaited with calm confidence the attack of 
the comhined American forces. The siege, or rather 
blockade, continued throughout the month of De- 
cember. Montgomery then called a council of war, 
and it was resolved to attempt to carry Quebec by 
assault, during the night of the 31st December. The 
besiegers approached the citadel with the most 
careful silence, aided by the raging of a furious 
snow storm ; as they approached Prescot gate 
by the road, which winds round the face of the 
rock leading from the lower to the upper town, 
the army became crowded into the long narrow 
pass which led to the gate of the fortress, and the 
confused noise of the American troops, notwithstand- 
ing every precaution, rose above the conflict of the 
elements, and struck the watchful ear of the outer 
sentinel, who, receiving no answer to his challenge, 
roused the British guard. General Montgomery* 
formed his men for the attack, and advanced with 
vigour to the assault 3 — with a quickness and pre- 
cision deserving of the highest praise, the English 

* Brig. Gen. R. Montgomery was a gentleman of good family in 
the North of Ireland, and connected by marriage with Viscount 
Ranelagh. He served under Wolfe as captain in the 1 7th on the 
heights of Abraham, and on his marriage with the daughter 
of Judge Livingstone, joined the cause of the colonists, and 
perished in attacking the fortress which he had aided the 
British in acquiring. 



HISTORY. 



41 



troops and Canadian militia opened a tremendous 
fire on the enemy from the artillery which com- 
manded the path — the groans which succeeded 
plainly revealed the enemy, and when every sound in 
answer to their fire had died away, then only did the 
besieged cease their cannonade 3 the morning dawned 
on no enemy, no trace of one was to be seen, for the 
thickly falling snow had covered the dead bodies 
of the brave but unfortunate Montgomery, and his 
daring band, whose bold attempt was thus so terribly 
checked. After a few other unsuccessful attacks, 
the American army, although re-inforced with 2,000 
fresh troops, raised the siege on the 6th of May, and 
drew off towards their own country. 

At the time of the invasion there were not more 
than 900 regular troops in the British colony, and 
the greater part of these surrendered in Forts 
Chambly and St. John, or were taken in the craft 
retiring from Montreal, while there was no militia 
in existence. Such however were the feelings of the 
Canadians,, on account of the honourable treatment 
experienced from the English government, after the 
conquest of the colony from the French, that they 
cheerfully and nobly exerted themselves to preserve 
Canada for England, thus affording another illustra- 
tion of the wisdom of humane and generous policy. 
The American force amounted to about 4,000 men ; 
but Arnold and Montgomery calculated on being 
joined by the great mass of the Canadian popula- 
tion, amongst whom partizans and emissaries from 
Xew England and New York had been actively dis- 
seminating circulars from Congress for the purpose 



42 



THE CAN AD AS. 



of acting on their prejudices. These expedients not 
only failed but recoiled on the heads of their fabri- 
cators. It was only on the 7 th September that 
the Canadian officers of militia received their com- 
missions but their activity and zeal made amends 
for the tardiness with which confidence was reposed 
in them, and of 1,500 defenders of Quebec, 800 were 
militia men. When the Americans evacuated the 
province, they had about 8,000 men, but the Cana- 
dian militia and regulars presented to them an 
organised force of 13,000, and thus compelled their 
retreat across the frontier. 

From this period (1776), to 1S12, Canada re- 
mained free from foreign aggression, and rapidly 
rose in population and prosperity."* In 1812, how- 
ever, the Americans, thinking the period propitious 
for capturing Canada (a favourite scheme not yet 
abandoned) by reason of the sway which the in- 
veterate enemy of England exercised throughout 
Europe, resolved to declare war against England, and 
invade Canada, where it was supposed the mass of 
the people would be disposed to receive the Ameri- 
cans with open arms. 

On the 24th June, it was known at Quebec that 
war was declared between England and America 5 and 
the Canadians rose with a noble spirit, in defence of 
England and of their country. They might have 
availed themselves of the distracted state of Great 
Britain — they might have joined, on their own 

* The division of Canada into provinces upper and lower, 
took place in 1791, but the general history of both is thus 
given connectedly. 



HISTORY. 



43 



terms,, the United States, and formed a portion of the 
Congress, — but no, although smarting under the in- 
dignities heaped on them, their efforts were those of 
a generous nature, which forgetting the injuries, re- 
membered only the benefits received from England. 
Four battalions of militia were instantly raised, — the 
Canadian Voltigeurs (a fine corps especially suited 
to the country) were organized and equipped in the 
short space of six weeks, by the liberality of the 
younger part of the Canadian gentry, from among 
whom they were gallantly officered ; and a spirit of 
military enthusiasm was infused into the whole popu- 
lation, as well as an example set to the settlers in 
Upper Canada, highly important at a crisis, when the 
regular troops of England were drained from the 
colonies for the purpose of combating with Na- 
poleon. 

Sir George Prevost, the new Governor, sum- 
moned the Canadian Parliament, appealed to its ho- 
nourable spirit, to the attachment of the people to 
the religion of their forefathers, and their ardent love 
for the true interests of their country. The Cana- 
dians responded to the appeal, and were expressly 
thanked by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent 
for their support and attachment — His Royal High- 
ness declaring, that c relying with confidence on the 
courage and loyalty of His Majesty's Canadian sub- 
jects, he was equally fearless of the result of any 
attack upon them, or of any insidious attempt to 
alienate their affections from the mother country/ 

On the breaking out of the war, Upper Canada 
was partly peopled by emigrants from the United 



44 



THE CANADAS. 



States, who might be supposed unwilling to shed 
the blood of their kindred the people of Lower 
Canada had but recently been represented by autho- 
rity as seditious, or so easily turned away from their 
allegiance as to endanger the government. There 
were but about 4,000 British troops in both pro- 
vinces, scattered along a frontier of 1,300 miles j and 
the St. Lawrence, an immense military highway, 
open to the United States, and leading into the 
heart of Canada, was undefended, thus endangering 
the safety of the British forces stationed on its bor- 
ders. With the view of keeping up the price of 
bills of exchange, of which the military govern- 
ment was the chief vender, the specie of the country 
had been suffered to be carried into the United 
States. Since the war of 1775 there had existed 
in the Canadas a militia merely in name, serving 
chiefly to drain, annually, a few thousand dollars 
from the public coffers. Accordingly, on the arrival 
of the news of the declaration of war at Montreal and 
Quebec, the first thought of many individuals in 
those cities was that of packing up. The governor, 
Sir George Prevost, and the people at large, thought 
differently. It was determined to defend both pro- 
vinces 5 the Legislature was assembled 5 and go- 
vernment paper, bearing interest, and payable in 
bills of exchange on England, was substituted for 
specie. 

The arrival of two battalions, for the purpose of 
relieving two others under orders for their departure, 
added to the regular force. At the instance of the 
government, a law had passed during the preceding 



HISTORY. 



45 



winter, for drafting the militia for actual service, and 
four weak battalions had been assembled before the 
war. Every description of force was now put in activity ; 
the citadel of Quebec was guarded by the inhabitants 
of the town, proud of the duty and of the confidence 
of the government, and propagating the same feel- 
ings throughout the country. In a month after 
the declaration of war, the lower province seemed 
prepared to become the assailant. The Americans 
had collected, in the summer of 1S11, their principal 
regular force on their north-western frontier against 
the Indians, whom they attacked. This force, joined 
by militia and volunteers, had set out on its march 
for Upper Canada, long before the declaration of 
war. It made roads through immense forests, de- 
pending on these roads for its communications and 
supplies, and arrived at Detroit, on the 5th July, 
about 2,500 strong. The British force on the fron- 
tier was nearly nominal. On the 12th July, the 
enemy passed over into Upper Canada, and issued 
a proclamation to the apparently defenceless inhabi- 
tants, inviting them to join his standard, or at least 
to remain inactive, assuring them of the protection 
of the United States. After some trilling skirmishes 
with the handful of British troops stationed at 
Amherstburg, and upon hearing of the surrender of 
Michilimacinack, on the 17th of July, to a few sol- 
diers, voyageurs, and Indians, he became alarmed 
for his own safety, and returned to Detroit on the 
7th of August. Sir George Prevost had entrusted 
the government and command of Upper Canada to 
General Brock, a straight -forward politician, and an 



46 



THE CAN ADAS. 



able, active, and spirited soldier, who infused an ex- 
cellent spirit into the loyal inhabitants. The com- 
mand of Lake Erie still remained with the British. 
On the 5th August, Brock prorogued the parliament 
at York 3 on the 12th, he was at Amherstburg • 
and on the 16th, the American General, Hull, and his 
whole army, surrendered to a force of 330 regulars, 
400 militia, and 600 Indians. People were utterly ' 
amazed when they saw so considerable a part of the 
American forces marched captive into Montreal and 
Quebec, within two months after the commencement 
of hostilities. Two months after the surrender of 
Hull, the enemy had collected a large force on the 
Niagara frontier. On the 13th of October, this force 
crossed over into Upper Canada, at Queenston, over- 
powering the small detachment stationed there. 
Brock was stationed at Fort George. Such was his 
ardour that he hastened to the spot before his army. 
He put himself at the head of a small party, which 
was still resisting the enemy, and the country 
was, by his fall, too early deprived of his talents 
and his services. The enemy obtained possession 
of the heights, but was soon dislodged, and in great 
part made prisoners by General Sheaffe, on whom 
the command had devolved. A temporary truce 
ensued in this quarter, till it was interrupted by a 
ridiculous gasconade and impudent attempt at in- 
vasion, on the 20th and 28th of November, near Fort 
Erie, by the American General Smith. Another 
equally absurd attempt was made, about the same 
time, by the British naval force on Lake Ontario, 
against Sacket's Harbour. The rest of the winter 



HISTORY. 



47 



passed away without any military event, except the 
capture, on the 22 nd January, by General Proctor, 
after a smart action, of 49 prisoners, amongst whom 
was the American General Winchester, on the Detroit 
frontier 3 and an attack on Ogdensburg, which, in 
reality, meant nothing, unless it had been. a prelude 
to an attack on Sacket's Harbour. From the time 
of the surrender of Hull, the Americans, however 
much they blamed that officer, seem to have been 
fully aware of the true cause of his disaster ; they, 
therefore, strained every nerve to obtain the mastery 
of the lakes. 

The ice no sooner disappeared on Lake Ontario, 
than they were out with a superior naval force from 
Sacket's Harbour. 

On the 27th April, they landed and took posses- 
sion of York, the capital of Upper Canada, destroyed 
the public buildings, wreaked their vengeance on a 
printing-press, and destroyed the frame of a ship, 
building for the British service, on the Lake ; Ge- 
neral Sheaffe retiring, after some resistance, towards 
Kingston. The enemy's fleet proceeded to Niagara, 
where it landed troops, and then returned to Sacket's 
Harbour, from whence it conveyed additional forces 
to the same quarter. On the 28th May, General 
Vincent was driven from the position of Fort 
George, and the place was captured 5 the British re- 
tiring along the Lake, towards Burlington Bay, 
leaving the whole Niagara frontier, containing a 
very large proportion of the whole population of 
Upper Canada, in the power of the enemy. General 
Proctor had at this time returned from the rapids of 



48 



THE CANADAS. 



the Miami, where he had captured 467 American sol- 
diers, and killed or wounded as many more ; but the 
enemy was still collecting, and Proctor's communica- 
tions were threatened. From Fort George, the Ameri- 
can army proceeded in pursuit of General Vincent, de- 
pending on the Lake for its supplies, and determined 
to take possession of Burlington heights, which 
would have left no common communication for 
General Proctor. General Vincent was at Burling- 
ton heights. The enemy had advanced to Stoney 
Creek, relying on his superiority and his distance 
from the British. Lieut. Col. Harvey, Dep. Adjt. 
Gen., conceived and chiefly executed the plan of 
surprising the enemy in the night. Before day 
on the 6th June, he entered the enemy's camp, con- 
sisting of about 3,000 men, with 704 bayonets, 
killing and wounding a great number of the enemy, 
and retired, carrying off 2 generals and 120 pri- 
soners. This affair so effectually disconcerted the 
Americans, that they returned hastily to Fort 
George, opening to the British the communication 
with part of the Niagara frontier, and, in fact, 
saving for the time the whole upper part of the 
province. 

The surrender of 341 of the enemy, under Boerstler, 
to the Indians and a few British soldiers, confined 
the enemy to Fort George. While the American 
troops and their naval force were absent at the head 
of the Lake, an attempt was made on Sacket's 
Harbour. Col. Baynes, Adjt. Gen., had nominally 
the command, but Sir George Prevost, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, was present 5 and when the Ame- 



HISTORY. 



49 



ricaiis were retreating, as was said, the latter called 
off the troops after they had reached the defences of 
the place, and had sustained considerable loss. This 
affair, by the opportunity which it afforded to Sir 
George's political enemies to lessen the estimation 
in which he was held, and by the misunderstanding, 
of which it laid the foundation, between him and 
the naval service, proved very unfortunate to the 
British interest in the Canadas during the remainder 
of the war. The campaign continued for some time 
without any event of much moment. On the 3rd 
of June, two American armed vessels, carrying 2 ( 2 
guns, were gallantly captured by the British troops, 
at Isle aux Noix, under the command of Lieut. Col. 
George Taylor, Major 105th Regt., after a well- 
contested action of three hours, which almost annihi- 
lated the enemy's naval power on Lake Champlain. 

On the 11th July, there was an attack on Black 
Rock j and on the 30th of that month, Colonel 
Murray destroyed the American barracks at Platts- 
burg. On the 10th of September, Commodore 
Perry, with a naval force, long blockaded at Erie, 
captured the whole of the British force on Lake 
Erie. General Proctor could no longer be supplied 
on the Detroit frontier : his only communication 
was by land, several hundred miles through forests, 

His situation had now become that of Hull, at 
Detroit ; he had one advantage, however, which 
Hull had not — the friendship of the Indians. He 
unaccountably delayed his retreat for a fortnight 
after the loss of his fleet, and till the near approach 
of a superior force of the enemy. On the 5th of 

vol. 1. E 



50 



THE CANADAS. 



October, he was only three days' march (56 miles) 
from Detroit, pursuing his retreat along the Trenche. 
His force consisted of less than 1,000 British and 
militia, and about 1,200 Indians ; the Americans 
were upwards of 3,000. A sudden charge of mounted 
riflemen broke the British line 3 the w T hole was 
thrown into confusion, and the greater part of the 
British were made prisoners. The Indians, in another 
part of the field, fought bravely 3 but the Americans 
finally prevailed. They returned immediately after 
the action to Detroit with their prisoners 3 and 
Proctor, with a few stragglers, and a number of In- 
dians, assembled at Ancaster, on the 17th October. 
A large proportion of the American forces, on the 
Niagara frontier, proceeded down the lake early in 
October, and were followed by land by part of the 
British forces. The diminished numbers of the re- 
maining part of the British army, the disaster on 
Lake Erie, and the state of affairs on the Detroit 
frontier, again compelled its commander to fall back 
on Burlington heights. The American forces were 
gradually collected at the lower ends of Lakes On- 
tario and Champlain, under Generals Wilkinson and 
Hampton, with the intention of making a combined 
attack on Montreal, while the chief part of the 
British regular force was in Upper Canada. It was 
evident that, if this attack succeeded, and the com- 
mand of that city and the surrounding country 
should be retained by the Americans, Upper Ca- 
nada was conquered, and every British soldier in 
it a prisoner, or forced to fight his way to Quebec. 
There was nothing to prevent Wilkinson, with suit- 



HISTORY. 



51 



able boats, and able pilots for the rapids, to land on 
the Island of Montreal, with an army completely 
equipped, in three or four days after his leaving 
Lake Ontario. Hampton was only a couple of days' 
march from the St. Lawrence. Sir George Prevost 
called upon the people of Lower Canada to defend 
their country ; and never was the call, under similar 
circumstances, more cheerfully obeyed. The fighting, 
however, fell to the lot of the embodied militia and 
regular forces. There seems to have been some mis- 
understanding, with respect to time, between the ene- 
my's commanders. Hampton appears to have em- 
ployed himself from the 20th of September to the20th 
of October, in calling out and collecting the forces of 
Lower Canada, by the time of General Wilkinson's 
arrival. On the 21st of October, the former en- 
tered the province, with a force variously stated at 
from 3,000 to 7,000 men, apparently with the in- 
tention of penetrating to the St. Lawrence, by the 
River Chateauguay. On the 26th, he came upon 
Colonel De Salaberry's position on that river, about 
30 miles from the frontier. This officer, a native 
of Canada, belonging to one of its old and most 
distinguished families, had served with the British 
army in various parts of the world. To great activity 
and personal intrepidity, he united military science 
and experience, and possessed the entire confi- 
dence of his little force, forming the advance of the 
army, consisting of about 300 men, almost entirely 
natives of Lower Canada, and composed of fenci- 
bles, voltigeurs, militia, and Indians. The enemy, 



THE CAN ADAS. 



consisting chiefly of new levies,, seemed to think 
that the battle was to be won by field manoeuvres, 
and platoon-firing. Colonel De Salaberry took 
advantage of all the protection for his men, that 
time and the facilities afforded by a woody country 
permit, and poured in a deadly fire, every man 
making sure of his object 5 the Colonel setting 
the example. The enemy's loss was considerable, 
but has never been correctly ascertained ; that of 
Colonel De Salaberry's force was, 2 killed and 16 
wounded. Hampton retired to the frontier, and 
thence to Plattsburg, where he remained in a state 
of inactivity, his army dwindling away by sickness 
and desertion. General Wilkinson, with his army, 
left Grenadier Island on the 5th November, in boats 
and other crafts. It consisted of between 8,000 
and 9,000 men, completely equipped and provided. 
He passed the British fort, at Prescott, on the night 
of the 6th. It was a beautiful moonlight : he might 
have been, the next evening, at the Island of Mon- 
treal as soon as General Prevost could receive the 
account of his approach. The militia called to 
oppose Hampton, had just been sent to their homes. 
Wilkinson, however, landed part of his troops to 
pass Prescott 3 he again landed the greatest part of 
them on the British side, above the Long Sault, in 
quest of obstacles which did not exist. These de- 
lays gave time to detachments from the garrisons of 
Kingston and Prescott to overtake him, and to Sir 
George Prevost again to call out the militia, about 
20,000 of whom were assembling from various 
parts of the country. On the 11th of November, 



HISTORY. 



53 



the American General Boyd, with about 2.000 men, 
the elite of the American army, marched against 
Colonel Morrison, who commanded the British forces 
from Kingston and Prescott, amounting to SOOmen, 
which hung on Boyd's rear. The Americans were 
beaten, and retired to their boats ; and after em- 
barking a force of 9,500 men, under General Brown, 
which had proceeded to Cornwall, opposed only by 
the inhabitants of the country, the whole army 
crossed to Salmon River, and took up a position at 
the French mills ; from which, after destroying their 
boats, they ultimately proceeded to Plattsburg, on 
Lake Champlain, sending 9,000 men to Sacket's 
Harbour. The American forces having been chiefly 
withdrawn from the Niagara frontier, the British 
in that quarter prepared to act on the offensive. 
On the 12 th December, the enemy evacuated Fort 
George, and burnt the town of Newark, leaving the 
inhabitants ruined and houseless, in the midst of 
winter, to all of whom they had promised protection, 
many of them being friendly to the Americans. 
On the 19th, Colonel Murray took Fort Niagara by 
surprise. On the 30th, General Riall retaliated on 
the enemy, by destroying Black Rock and Buffalo. 
Although many projects of hostilities were enter- 
tained on both sides, during the remainder of the 
winter, nothing was done of any importance till the 
30th of March, when Wilkinson, at the head of 
upwards of 3,000 men, entered Lower Canada, on 
the western shore of Lake Champlain, and attacked, 
unsuccessfully, La Colle Mill, defended by Major 
Handcock. of the 13th regiment, and about ISO 



54 



THE CANADAS. 



men. The General then retired unmolested to the 
United States, and, closed his military career. The 
failure of the enemy's attempts against Lower Ca- 
nada, and the course of events in Europe, began to 
give a new character to the war. Instead of having 
for its object the wresting of Canada from Great 
Britain, it became, on the part of the United States, 
a war more of a defensive nature, or, at least, the 
offensive measures were confined to a part of the 
Upper Province. 

Although the British naval force on Lake On- 
tario had ventured out of port during the preceding 
campaign, all the advantages of naval superiority 
w T ere on the side of the Americans.* Early in the 
season of 1814, Sir James Yeo, who, with naval 
officers, seamen, and shipwrights, had arrived from 
England early in 1813, laid claim to the command 
of the Lake. Sir Gordon Drummond, with troops 
from Kingston, accordingly embarked in the fleet, 
and captured Oswego, on the 6th of May. The 
American fleet, however, soon seemed to have re- 
gained its former superiority. The American army 
assembled on the Niagara frontier, under the com- 
mand of General Brown, well known in Lower 
Canada, before the war, as a plain farmer and dealer 
in lumber and potash, and who commanded at 
Sacket's Harbour, when attacked by Sir George 
Prevost. On the 3rd July, this officer, at the head of 

* The Americans ran their ships up in a few weeks, and had 
all their supplies on the spot; we built our ships as slowly 
and regularly as if they were intended for the ocean, and had 
to send the greater part of the material from England. 



HISTORY. 



55 



between 3,000 and 4,000 men, crossed over into Up- 
per Canada, at Black Rock, and obtained possession 
of Fort Erie by capitulation. On the 5th, he was met 
by General Riall, with about 2,000 regulars, militia, 
and Indians, at Chippawa. The British loss, in 
killed, wounded, and missing, was 515 5 that of the 
Americans, 322. On the 18th, General Riall fell 
back on Fort George ; and on the 9th, to the 
Twenty-mile Creek, where he received reinforce- 
ments. The enemy proceeded to invest Fort George, 
and committed indiscriminate plunder on the inha- 
bitants of the frontier. The thriving village of St. 
David's was entirely destroyed. On the 23rd, Ge- 
neral Brown fell back to Queenston, and General 
Riall advanced. On the 25th, in the afternoon, 
the two armies again met, near the Falls. General 
Riall, after sustaining a severe loss, ordered a re- 
treat. General Drummond, who arrived at Fort 
George that morning from York, with reinforce- 
ments, ordered an advance. The field was gallantly 
contested till midnight, when the enemy retired to 
his camp, and thence towards Fort Erie. 

The American force in this action was about 
4,000 3 that of the British, as stated by General 
Drummond, 2,800. The total loss of the latter 
was 8785 of the Americans, 854.- The British 
army arrived before Fort Erie on the 3rd of August, 
and invested the place. On the 11th, the American 
armed schooners Ohio and Somers, aiding in the 
defence of the place, were carried by 75 British 
seamen, under Captain Dobbs, in boats, some of 



56 



THE CANADAS. 



which had been carried on men's shoulders from 
Queenston. 

On the night of the 15th, the British assaulted 
the fort, and were repulsed with heavy loss 5 the 
gallant and amiable Colonel Scott, of the 103rd, 
and the intrepid Colonel Drummond, of the 104th, 
being among the killed. The total loss was 905 5 
that of the enemy only 84. After this unfortunate 
affair, General Drummond converted the siege into 
a blockade. On the 26th of June, transports ar- 
rived at Quebec from Bordeaux with the 6th and 
82nd regiments. They were ordered to the Nia- 
gara frontier, where they arrived late in August, 
having had to march round Lake Ontario. The 
principal part of the remainder of the troops which 
arrived from France, were assembled on the Riche- 
lieu River, where they were brigaded with the forces 
already in that quarter, under General de Rotten- 
burg, for the purpose of carrying into effect instruc- 
tions from England for offensive operations against 
the United States. Great exertions had for some 
time previous been making on both sides, to ensure 
a superiority on Lake Champlain. On the 3rd of 
September, the British army, amounting to 11,000 
men, under Sir George Prevost, passed the frontier 
by Odell Town, and reached Plattsburg on the 6th, 
with trifling opposition, where the American General 
Macomb occupied a fortified position with 1,500 
regulars, and as many of the inhabitants, all trained 
to arms, as could be collected from both sides of 
the Lake. From the 6th to the 11th, battering 



HISTORY. 



5? 



cannon were brought up from the rear, and bat- 
teries erected by the British. 

On the 11th, the British flotilla from Isle aux 
Noix -came up and attacked the American naval 
force in the bay 3 the land batteries opened at the 
same time, and the troops moved to the assault. 
When they had reached the heights on which the 
American works were situated, victory declared 
itself in favour of the American naval force. Sir 
George Prevost countermanded the orders for the 
attack ; the next morning the whole army retreated, 
and on the 13th re-entered the province, with a 
total loss of c 235 men, exclusive of deserters, which 
on this, as on every occasion when the British 
soldiers entered the enemy's country, was consider- 
able. 

On the 17th September, the American forces 
made a sortie from Fort Erie, which was repulsed, 
but with severe loss. On the 21st, the British 
broke up, and retired upon Chippawa, Fort George, 
and Burlington Heights. On the 17 th October, 
Sir James Yeo appeared on the Lake, and brought 
reinforcements and supplies to General Drummond, 
the American squadron under Chauncey remaining 
in Sacket's Harbour. On the 5th November, the 
Americans evacuated Fort Erie, the only military 
fort which they held in the Canadas 5 a predatory 
party which proceeded from Detroit, and penetrated 
more than a hundred miles into Upper Canada, 
plundering the property, and destroying the dwell- 
ings of the loyal inhabitants, having also retired on 
the approach of a British detachment from Bur- 



58 



THE CANADAS. 



lington Heights. Michilimacinack, which the Ame- 
rican superiority on Lake Erie and Lake Huron, 
enabled them to attack, had been gallantly defended 
by Colonel M'Donall. The enemy burnt the estab- 
lishment of the North West Company at Sault St. 
Marie. The Colonel, however, managed to send 
parties of voyageurs and Indians to the head of 
the Mississippi, and captured the post of Prairie 
du Chien. British naval officers and seamen, sent 
overland from York, had also captured in open 
boats two American armed schooners on Lake 
Huron, and preparations were making to secure the 
command of that Lake, and even recover that of 
Lake Erie, with which the former communicates 
by Detroit. On the c 24th December, 1814, a treaty 
of peace between the United States and Great Bri- 
tain was signed at Ghent $ on the 1 8th February, 
1815, it was ratified and proclaimed at Washington, 
and on the 9th of March made known at Quebec 
by Sir George Prevost. Neither the close of the 
war, nor the treaty, was considered in Canada as 
befitting the character of Great Britain, a nation 
which had so recently acted the principal part in 
reducing the most formidable power that had been 
known in modern Europe. Men who had beaten 
the most celebrated troops in the world, in a series 
of battles from Gibraltar to Bordeaux, were re- 
strained from acting against an inferior force at 
Plattsburg, and defeated and destroyed in an attack 
on mud breast works at New T Orleans, defended by 
peasantry and raw levies. The whole conduct of 
the war on the part of Great Britain was considered 



HISTORY. 



59 



as extraordinary. When Canada was to be defended, 
there was a deficiency of the force in which England 
abounded, ships and seamen, jeopardizing the whole 
country, notwithstanding the zeal and loyalty of the 
people, the many instances of distinguished military 
skill, and the general gallantry and persevering en- 
durance of the army. When Britain was in circum- 
stances to dispose of a force to act offensively against 
the United States, only a few thousand soldiers were 
sent to an open and populous country, where an 
European army could have operated to advantage ; 
and a large force was sent against distant frontiers, 
where a regular force could neither act nor subsist 
itself, where, in fact, it was inferior to an equal 
number of militia-men and sharp-shooters, of which 
description of troops all the inhabitants of these 
frontiers consisted. On the ocean, Great Britain 
exposed the bravest of her sons to be butchered, 
or disgraced, from an unpardonable ignorance of the 
superiority of the enemy's ships over those which 
were sent to contend against them $ and to complete 
the whole, the officer who had been chiefly instru- 
mental in preserving two of her finest provinces, 
was disgraced, and only a scanty reparation offered 
to his memory after he had died broken-hearted. 

These are lessons for the future, and with that view 
deserve to be placed on record 5 for which reason I 
have been induced to give the foregoing chronicle 
of Upper Canada, the further history of either pro- 
vince being of no especial moment. The following 
is a list of the Governors of the Lower Province 
under the French and English government : — 

Sieur de Mesy, May, 1663. Sieur de Courcelles, 



60 



THE CANADAS. 



23 Sept. 1665. Sieur de Frontenac, 12 Do. 1672. 
Sieur de la Barre, 9 Oct. 1682. Sieur Marquis de 
Nonville, 3 Aug. 1685. Sieur de Frontenac, 28 
Nov. 1689. Sieur Chevalier de Callieres, 14 Sept. 
1699. Le Sieur Marquis de Vaudreuil, 17 Do. 
1703. Le Sieur Marquis de Beauharnois, 2 Do. 
1726. Sieur Conte de la Galissoniere, 25 Do. 1747. 
Sieur de la Jonquiere, 16 Aug. 1749. Sieur Mar- 
quis du Guesne de Meneville, 7 Do. 1752. Sieur 
de Vaudreuil de Cavagnal, 10 July, 1755. James 
Murray, 21 Nov. 1765. Paulus Emilius Irving, 
(President) 30 June, 1766. Guy Carleton, Lt. Gov. 
&c. Com. in Chief, 24 Sept. 1766. Do. Do. 26 Oct. 
1774. Hector J. Cramah£, (President) 9 Aug. 17/0. 
Guy Carleton, 11 Oct. 1774. Frederick Haldimand, 
1778. Henry Hamilton, Lt. Gov. and Com. in 
Chief, 1774. Henry Hope, Lt. Gov. and Com. in 
Chief, 1775. Lord Dorchester, Gov. General, 1776. 
Colonel Clarke, Lt.Gov. Com. in Chief, 1791. Lord 
Dorchester, 24 Sept. 1793. Robert Prescott, 1796. 
Sir Robert S.Milnes, Bart. Lt. Gov. 31 July, 1799. 
Hon. Thomas Dunn, (President) 31 Do. 1805. Sir 
J. H. Craig, K. B. Gov. Gen. 24 Oct. 1807. Hon. 
Thomas Dunn, (President) 19 June, 1811. Sir 
George Prevost, Bart. Gov. Gen. 14 Sept. 1811. Sir 
G. Drummond, G. C. B. Ad. in Chief, 14 April, 1815. 
John Wilson, Administrator, 22 May, 1816. Sir J. 
C. C. Sherbrooke, G. C. B. Gov. Gen. 12 July, 1816. 
Duke of Richmond, K. C. B. Gov. Gen. 30 Do. 

1818. Hon. James, Monk, (President) 20 Sept. 

1819. Sir Peregrine Maitland, Do. 1820. Earl of 
Dalhousie, G. C. B. Gov. Gen. 18 June, 1820. Sir 
Frs. Matt. Burton, K. C. G. Lt. Gov. 7 June, 1824. 



HISTORY. 



61 



EarlofDalhousie, G. C. B. Gov. Gen. 23 Sept. 1825. 
Sir James Kemp, G. C. B. 8 Do. 1828. Lord Ayl- 
mer, July, 1830. Lord Gosford, July, 1635. 

A List of the Lieutenant-Governors, Presidents, and 
Administrators of Upper Canada, from the division 
of the province 1791 to 1834. 
Colonel John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Go- 
vernor, July 8th, 1792 ; the Honourable Peter 
Russel, President, July 21st, 1796 j Lieutenant - 
General Peter Hunter, Lieutenant-Governor, August 
17th, 1799 5 the Honourable A. Grant, President, 
September 11th, 1805 ; His Excellency Francis 
Gore, Lieutenant-Governor, August 25th, 1806 ; 
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, President, Sep- 
tember 30th, 1811 j Major-General Sir R. H. 
Sheaffe, Bart., President, October 20th, 1812 ; 
Major-General P. Baron de Rottenburg, President, 
June 19th, 1813 5 Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon 
Drummond, K. C. B., Provincial Lieutenant-Go- 
vernor, December 13th, 1813 ; Lieutenant-General 
Sir George Murray, Bart., Provincial Lieutenant- 
Governor, April 2 th, 1815 5 Major-General Sir 
F. P. Robinson, K. C. B., Provincial Lieutenant- 
Governor, July 1st, 1815 : His Excellency Francis 
Gore, Lieutenant Governor, September 25th, 1815 5 
the Honourable Samuel Smith, Administrator, June 
11th, 1817 $ Major-General Sir P. Maitland, K.C.B. 
Lieutenant-Governor, August 13th, 1818 5 the Ho- 
nourable Samuel Smith, Administrator, March 8th, 
1820 3 Major-General Sir P. Maitland, K. C.B., 
Lieutenant-Governor, June 30th, 1820 ; Major-Ge- 
neral Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant-Governor, No- 
vember 5th, 1 828. 



62 



THE CANADAS. 



CHAPTER II. 

GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL ASPECT, MOUNTAINS, LAKES, CATA- 
RACTS, AND RIVERS ISLANDS, CANALS, CHIEF CITIES AND 

TOWNS, &C. 

In 1791, Canada was, by His Majesty's Order in 
terms of Council,* divided into two provinces, called 
the Upper and Lower, each with a distinct govern- 
ment 5 and as their physical features are some- 

* The words of the Order in Council are — 1 to commence at 
a stone boundary on the N. bank of the lake of St. Francis at 
the Cove W. of Point au Baudot, in the limit between the 
township of Lancaster and the seigniory of New Longueuil, 
running along the said limit in the direction of N. 34 W. to 
the westernmost angle of the said seigniory of New Longueuil; 
then along the N. W. boundary of the seniority of Vaudreuil, 
running N. 25 E. until it strikes the Ottawa river ; to ascend the 
said river into the lake Temiscaming, and from the head of the 
said lake by a line drawn due N. until it strikes the boundary 
of Hudson's Bay, including all the territory to the westward and 
southward of the said line to the utmost extent of the country 
commonly called or know T n by the name of Canada.' The want 
of clearness in the above delineation, added to the imperfect- 
ness of the map on which it was drawn, particularly as regarded 
the westwardly angle of the seigniory of New Longueuil, and 
the S. W. angle of Vaudreuil, which are represented as coin- 
cident, when, according to the intelligent and patriotic Col. 
Bouchette, they are nine miles distant from each other — has 
naturally caused disputes as to the boundaries between Upper 
and Lower Canada. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



63 



what different, it will be advisable for the sake of 
perspicuity to examine them separately. 

Lower Canada is comprised within the parallels of 
45° and 52°. N. Lat., and the meridians of 57.50 
to 80.6. W. of Greenwich $ embracing, so far as its 
boundaries will admit of estimation, an area of 
205,863 square miles, including a superficies of 3200 
miles, covered by the numerous lakes and rivers of 
the Province, and excluding the surface occupied by 
the St. Lawrence river and part of the gulf, which 
cover 52,000 square miles the entire Province, 
land and water, being about a quarter of a million 
square miles, or 160,000,000 of acres. 

Upper Canada is comprised within the parallels 
of 41° to 49° N., and the meridians of 74° to 117° 
W. of Greenwich, embracing an area of about 
100,000 square miles, or 64,000,000 of acres. The 
general boundaries of this vast country have been 
stated in the preceding chapter ; and it will be seen 
that the great lakes are divided between Great Bri- 
tain and the United States, an arrangement which the 
French, while in possession of Canada, sedulously 
avoided conceding to the English. 

The natural features of Lower Canada partake of 
the most romantic sublimities and picturesque beau- 
ties 3 indeed the least imaginative beholder cannot 
fail to be struck with the alternations and vast 
ranges of mountains, magnificent rivers, immense 
lakes, boundless forests, extensive prairies, and 
foaming cataracts. 

Beginning with the bold sea coast and ocean-like 
river St Lawrence, it may be observed that the east- 
ern parts are high, mountainous, and covered with 



64 



THE C AX AD AS. 



forests on both sides of St. Lawrence to the very 
banks of the river ; on the northern side the moun- 
tains run parallel with the river as far up as Quebec, 
when they take a course to the W. and S. W. as far 
as the extremity of the west limits : on the south 
side the monntainous range does not reach with- 
in 60 miles of Quebec, when it quits the parallel 
of the river and runs in aS. W. and S. direction into 
the United States. The latter mountains (on the S. 
of the St. Lawrence) are known by the name of the 
Alleghanies, and rise abruptly out of the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence at Perce, between the Bay of Chaleur and 
Gaspe Cape : they follow the course of the river at 
a greater distance from its banks than those on the 
north side, and also when opposite Quebec bend yet 
further to the southward ; entering the United 
States the Alleghanies divide the Atlantic coast from 
the basin of the Ohio, their loftiest elevation being 
from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
The country between the two ranges of mountains 
just mentioned, and the S. boundary line of Lower 
Canada in 45° of N. lat. is marked by numerous 
risings and depressions into hill and dale, with many 
rivers running from the N. and S. into the great 
valley of the St. Lawrence. In order to give a clear 
view of this valley, it will be well to divide it into 
sections, and then treat briefly of the rivers and lakes 
throughout the province — beginning with the sea- 
coast : — 

North side of the St. Lawrence. — I. The 
most northerly and easterly section of the province 
of Lower Canada, extending from Ance au Sablon on 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



65 



the Labrador coast to the Saguenay river, lat. 48.5, 
long. 69.37, occupies a front of 650 miles, of which 
we know little more than the appearance of the 
coast, as explored from time to time by fishers and 
hunters. A bold mountainous country in general 
characterises the coast line ; in some places the 
range recedes from the shores of the Gulf and river 
St. Lawrence to the extent of 12 or 15 miles, leav- 
ing a deep swampy flat or moss-bed nearly three 
feet in depth, — in other parts (as at Portneuf, 40 
miles E. of the Saguenay) the shores are of moderate 
elevation, composed of alternate cliffs of light co- 
loured sand, and tufts or clumps of evergreens. 

The country between the two points just stated, is 
well watered by numerous rivers, among which may 
be mentioned the Grande and Petite Bergeronnes, 
the Portneuf, Missisiquinak, tetsiamites, Bustard, 
Manicougan, Ichimanipistic (or seven islands), St. 
John, St. Austins and Esquimaux. We can scarcely 
be said to know any thing more of these rivers 
than their embouchures. There are no roads along 
the coast, and the only settlement of any consequence 
is at Portneuf, a trading mart belonging to the 
King's Post Company, who possess, under lease 
from the crown, the exclusive rig~ht of bartering, 
hunting and fishing over this vast territory, and 
even to the westward of the Saguenay. The tract is 
termed the King's domain, and formed part of the 
' United farms of France,' according to the Ordon- 
nance of 1/33. 

II. The second geographical division of the pro- 
vince N. of the river St. Lawrence, is that comprised 

VOL. I. F 



66 



THE CAN A DAS. 



within the mouths of the Saguenay and St. Maurice 
rivers, which form the great highways to the north- 
ern territories, and ramify in various directions with 
numerous lesser streams and lakes. The distance 
between the Saguenay and St. Maurice is about 
200 miles $ — Quebec being nearly equidistant from 
each river. From Quebec to the Saguenay there is 
a bold and strongly defined range of mountains $ from 
Cape Torment, the ridge is unbroken (save where 
rivers find their exits to the St. Lawrence) to 15 
miles below the Saguenay. Beyond this coast 
border, the country is in some places flat, in others 
undulating with chains of hills of moderate height, 
well watered by numerous lakes and rivers ; among 
the latter are the St. Charles, the Montmorenci, the 
Great River, or St. Ann's, the du Gouffre, Black 
River, &c. 

The country N. W. of Quebec, between that city 
and the St. Maurice, is not so bold as it is to the 
S. E. towards the Saguenay the land rises in a 
gentle ascent from the St. Lawrence banks, present- 
ing an extremely picturesque prospect, with alterna- 
tions of water, wood, and rich cultivation, bounded 
m the distance by remote and lofty mountains. The 
rivers Jacques Cartier, Portneuf, St. Ann's and Ba- 
tiscan with their numerous tributaries, add fertility 
and beauty to the landscape. 

III. The third territorial section N. of St. Law- 
vence, embraces the country lying between the St. 
Maurice river and the junction of the Ottawa and 
ST Lawrence, where Upper and Lower Canada meet. 
The aspect of the country from five to fifteen miles 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



67 



from the river's bank is slightly elevated into table 
ridges, with occasional abrupt acclivities and plains 
of moderate extent. 

The islands of Montreal, Jesus and Perrot, si- 
tuate in the river St. Lawrence, come within this 
section. Montreal, the largest of the three, is a 
lovely isle of a triangular shape, 32 miles long by 10 
broad, lying at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. 
Lawrence, and separated on the N. W. from isle 
Jesus, by the riviere des Prairies. Montreal exhibits 
a surface nearly level with the exception of a 
mountain, (Coteau St. Pierre) and one or two 
hills of slight elevation, from which flow nume- 
rous streams and rivulets. The island is richly 
cultivated, and tastefully adorned. Isle Jesus, 
N. W. of Montreal, 21 miles long by 6 broad, is 
every where level, fertile, and admirably tilled ; off 
its S. W. end is Isle Bizard, about four miles in 
length and nearly oval, well cleared and tenanted. 
Isle Perrot lies off the S. W. end of Montreal, seven 
miles long by three broad ; level, sandy and not well 
cleared $ the small islets de la Paix are annexed to 
the seigniory of Isle Perrot, and serve for pasturages. 

Before proceeding to describe the physical aspect 
of the S. side of the St. Lawrence, it may be proper 
to observe that but little is known of the interior of 
the portion of the province bounded by the Ottawa 
or Grand River; so far as it has been explored, 
it is not distinguished by the boldness which charac- 
terizes the E. section of Lower Canada ; now and 
then small ridges and extensive plains are met with, 
receding from the bed of the Ottawa, whose margin 



68 



THE CAN ADAS. 



is an alluvial flat, flooded often by the spring freshes 
and autumnal rains, to the extent of a mile from the 
river's bed. Beyond the first ridge that skirts these 
flats the country is little known. 

IV. South side of the St. Lawrence. — Let us 
now view the province on the S. of the Lawrence, 
beginning as before at the sea coast — on which the 
large county and district of Gaspe is situate. This 
peninsulated tract, more properly belonging to New 
Brunswick than to Lower Canada, lies between the 
parallel of 47.18 to 49.12 N. lat. and 64.12 to 67-53 
W. long, bounded on the N. by the river St. Law- 
rence, on the E. by the Gulf of the same name, on 
the S. by the Bay of Chaleurs adjoining New Bruns- 
wick, and on the W. by the lower Canada territory ; 
having its greatest width from N. to S. about 90 
miles, and with a sea coast extending 350 miles from 
Cape Chat round to the head of Ristigouche Bay. 
This large track of territory has been as yet but very 
imperfectly explored ; so far as we know, the face 
of the country is uneven, with a range of mountains 
skirting the St. Lawrence to the N., and another at 
no remote distance from the shores of Ristigouche 
river and Bay of Chaleurs ; — between these ridges 
is an elevated and broken valley, occasionally inter- 
sected by deep ravines. The district is well wooded, 
and watered by numerous rivers and lakes, the soil 
rich and yielding abundantly when tilled. The sea 
beach is low (with the exception of Cape Gaspe\ 
which is high with perpendicular cliffs) and frequently 
used as the highway of the territory ; behind it, the 
land rises into high round hills, well wooded. The 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



69 



chief rivers are the Ristigouche, into which fall the 
Pscudy, Goummitz, Guadamgonichone, Mistoue and 
Metapediac 5 the grand and little Nouvelle, grand 
and little Cascapediac, Caplin, Bonaventure, East 
Nouvelle, and Port Daniel, which discharge them- 
selves into the Bay of Chaleurs 5 — grand and little 
Pabos, grand and little River, and Mai Bay river, 
flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence : — the river 
St John, and N. E. and S. W. branches, fall into 
Gaspe Bay. There are also many lakes. 

V. The country comprized between the western 
boundary of Gaspe and the E. of the Chaudiere river, 
has a front along the St. Lawrence river to the 
N. W. of 257 miles, and is bounded to the S.E. by 
the high lands dividing the British from the United 
States territories. These high lands are 62 miles 
from the St. Lawrence at their nearest point, but on 
approaching the Chaudiere river, they diverge south- 
wardly. The physical aspect of this territory, em- 
bracing about 19,000 square miles (of which the 
United States claim about 10,000 square miles), is 
not so mountainous as the opposite bank of the St. 
Lawrence 5 it may more properly be characterized 
as a hilly region, abounding in extensive vallies. 
The immediate border of the St. Lawrence is flat, 
soon however rising into irregular ridges, and at- 
taining an elevated and extensive tableau : at the 
distance of 15 to 20 miles from the shores of the 
St. Lawrence, the tableau gently descends towards 
the River St. John, beyond which it again re-ascends, 
acquiring a greater degree of altitude towards the 



70 



THE CAN AD AS. 



sources of the Allegash — finally merging in the 
Connecticut range of mountains. 

VI. — The last section of Lower Canada, S. of 
the St. Lawrence, is that highly valuable tract W. 
of the river Chaudiere, fronting the St. Lawrence, 
and having in the rear the high lands of Connecticut 
and the parallel of the 45° of N. lat., which consti- 
tutes the S. and S. E. boundary of Lower Canada, 
where the latter is divided from the American States 
of New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. 
The superficial extent of this tract is 18,86*4 miles, 
containing 1/ counties and a population of 200,000. 
The physical aspect varies, throughout this ex- 
tensive section • at the mouth of the Chaudiere 
the banks of the St. Lawrence still retain the 
boldness for which they are remarkable at Que- 
bec and Point Levi, but proceeding westward, 
they gradually subside to a moderate elevation, 
till they sink into the flats of Baie du Febre, and 
form the marshy shores of Lake St. Peter, whence 
the country becomes a richly luxuriant plain. Pro- 
ceeding from Lake St. Peter towards Montreal, the 
boldness and grandeur of the country about Quebec 
may be contrasted with the picturesque champagne 
beauties of Richelieu, V ercheres, Chambly and La 
Prairie districts. In the former especially, the eye 
of the spectator is delighted with a succession of 
rich and fruitful fields, luxuriant meadows, flourish- 
ing settlements, neat homesteads, gay villages, and 
even delightful villas, adorning the banks of the 
Richelieu, the Yamaska and the St. Lawrence, whilst 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



71 



m the distance are seen the towering mountains of 
Rouville and Chambly, Rougeniont, Mount Johnson 
and Boucherville, soaring majestically above the 
common level. As the country recedes from the 
St. Lawrence banks to the E. and S. E., it gradually 
swells into ridges, becomes progressively more hilly, 
and finally assumes a mountainous character towards 
lakes Memphramagog and St. Francis, beyond 
which it continues to preserve more or less that 
boldness of aspect, to the borders of the Chaudiere, 
and the height of land at the Connecticut's sources.* 
Colonel Bouchette, the Surveyor-general of Lower 
Canada, to whose valuable observations I am so much 
ed in this volume, is of opinion that the range 
of hills traversing Bolton, Orford, &c. are a conti- 
nuation of the Green mountains, which form a con- 
spicuous ridge running from S. to W. through the 
State of Vermont. Several bold and conspicuous 
mountains rise isolated from the valleys or plains 
of Yamaska and Chambly, adding a delightful 
interest to the scenery. This territory is pro- 
fusely watered by numerous rivers and lakes and 
rivulets, winding in every direction. The chief rivers 
are the Chaudiere (forming the boundary to the east- 
ward) the Becancour, Nicolet (two branches), St. 
Francis, Yamaska, Richelieu (or Chambly), Cha- 
teauguay and Salmon : all but the three last having 
their sources within the province. The chief lakes 
are the Memphramagog (part in Canada, part in 

* This is the section of the fine country known by the name 
of the Eastern Townships, in which the possessions of the Bri- 
tish American Land Company are situate, — (see large Edition.) 



72 



THE CAN A DAS. 



the United States), Scaswaninipus, Tomefobi, Si m 
Francis, Nicolet, Pitt, William, Trout, and many 
smaller ones.* 

Having now shewn the natural divisions of the 
Province, we may proceed to investigate its greater 
water courses, treating of the appearances visible 
on the face of each as we go along, and beginning 
with the — 

Gulf of St. Lawrence — which receives the wa- 
ters of the numerous lakes and rivers of the Ca- 
nadian portion of the American continent, and is 
formed by the western coast of Newfoundland, the 
eastern shores of Labrador, the eastern extremity 
of the province of New Brunswick, and by part of 
Nova Scotia and the island of Cape Breton — com- 
municating with the Atlantic by three different chan- 
nels, namely, by the Gut of Canso (a narrow pas- 
sage dividing Cape Breton from Nova Scotia), a 
wider and main channel between Cape North in Cape 
Breton isle, and Cape Ray in Newfoundland — and 
the narrow straits of Belleisle separating the La- 
brador coast from Newfoundland. The distance 
from Cape Rosier, Gaspe* Bay, lat. 48.50.41, long. 
64.15.24, to Cape Ray in Newfoundland, lat. 
47.36.49, long. 59.21, is 79 leagues j and from Nova 
Scotia to Labrador the distance is 106 leagues. There 
are several islands in the Gulf, — the one most dan- 
gerous to navigators is in the principal entrance just 
described — between Newfoundland and Cape Breton 
—it is named St. Paul (lat. 47.12.38, long. 60.11.24, 

* For a further account of rivers, lakes, falls, &c, see the 
respective sections under these heads. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT, 



73 



Compass variation c 23.45 W.) Owing to its posi- 
tion, the steepness of its shores, and the dense fogs 
frequent on this coast, St. Paul's is much in want of 
a light-house : the isle is small and barren. On the 
S. side of the bay is Prince Edward's or St. John's 
island, extending in a crescent-like form 123 miles, 
and at its narrowest part 12 ; to the northward are 
the small Magdalen islands, 11 in number, between 
the parallels of 47.30 and 47.38 N. lat., and 61.27 
and 62 W. long. They were granted to Sir Isaac 
Coffin as a reward for his naval services, and five or 
six are inhabited by French, Canadians, and English 
and Irish settlers, altogether numbering 1,000, who 
carry on a profitable fishery. Magdalen isle, the 
largest, is 17 leagues in length, but very narrow, be- 
ing in some places not more than a mile wide.* 

The River St. Lawrence, arising from the great 
and magnificent basin of Lake Superior (more than 
1,500 miles in circumference) in Upper Canada, has 
a course to the sea of nearly 3,000 miles (varying 
from one to 90 miles broad), of which distance, in- 
cluding the lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, it is 
navigable for ships of a large class very nearly 
2,000 miles, and the remainder of the distance for 
barges, batteaux, and vessels drawing little w T ater, of 
from 10 to 15 and even 60 tons burthen. The re- 
motest spring of the St. Lawrence, if we consider 
the Canadian lakes as merely extensive widenings of 

* North of the Magdalens is Brion's Island, and beyond this 
are the Bird isles or rocks ; the north of which is in latitude 
47.50.28, longitude 61.12.53. On this it is proposed to erect 
a light-house. 



74 



THE CAN A DAS. 



the river, is the stream called St. Lewis in lat. 48.30 
N., long, about 93 W. From its source, the general 
direction through lakes Superior and Huron is S.E. 
to Lake Erie— -nearly due E. from that lake, and 
then N. E. to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, receiving 
in its vast course almost all the rivers that have 
their sources in the extensive range of mountains to 
the northward called the Land's Height, that sepa- 
rates the waters falling into Hudson's Bay from 
those that descend into the Atlantic ; together with 
all those rivers that rise in the ridge which com- 
mences on its S. bank, running nearly S. W. to 
where the ridge falls on Lake Champlain. From 
the sea to Montreal, this superb river is called the 
St. Lawrence, from thence to Kingston in Upper 
Canada, the Cataraqui or Iroquois ; between Lake 
Ontario and Erie the Niagara ; between lakes Erie 
and St. Clair the Detroit ; between lakes St. Clair 
and Huron the St. Clair ; and between lakes Huron 
and Superior the distance is called the Narrows or 
Falls of St. Mary. The St. Lawrence discharges* 
to the ocean annually about 4,277,880 millions of 
tons of fresh water, of which 2,112,120 millions of 
tons may be reckoned melted snow ; the quantity 
discharged before the thaw comes on, being 4,512 

* According to Mr. M'Taggart, a shrewd and humourous 
writer, to whom I am indebted for several valuable facts, the 
solid contents in cubic feet of the St. Lawrence, embracing 
lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario, is esti- 
mated at 1,547,792,360,000 cubic feet, and the superficial area 
being 72,930 square miles, the water therein would form a 
cubic column of nearly 22 miles on each side ! 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



millions of tons per day for 240 days, and the quan- 
tity after the thaw begins, being 25,560 millions per 
day for 125 days, the depths and velocity when in 
and out of flood duly considered : hence a ton of 
water being nearly equal to 55 cubic yards of pure 
snow, the St. Lawrence frees a country of more than 
2,000 miles square, covered to the depth of three feet. 
The embouchure of this first class stream is that 
part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the island 
of Anticosti divides the mouth of the river into two 
branches. 

This island, * 130 miles long and 30 broad, has 
neither bay nor harbour sufficient to afford shelter 
for shipping in bad weather. The aspect is gene- 
rally low, but on the N. of the island the shore is 
more elevated, and three lofty mountain peaks, with 
high table land, break the monotonous appearance 
of so great an extent of flat country. The rivers are 
of no great magnitude, and we know too little of the 
soil and nature of the interior, to pronounce a de- 
cided opinion on its quality ; from the position of 
the island it may be supposed to be alluvial : it 
is as yet uninhabited, f but as land becomes more 
valuable, it will doubtless be colonized. The Cana- 

* E. point lat. 49.8.30, long. 61.44.59. W. point, lat. 
49.52.29, long. 64.36.54. Variation, 22.55. S.W. point, lat. 
49.23, long. 63.44. 

t In 1828 the shipwrecked mariners of the Granicus were 
forced to cannabalism, until the last wretched being perished 
for want of any more of his unfortunate companions to prey 
on. The bones and mangled remains of the slain were found 
scattered about on the wild shores of Anticosti, as if a struggle 
had taken place in the last extremity. 



j6 THE CANADAS. 

dian Parliament has recently caused two light-houses 
to be erected on the island, one at the E. point, the 
other at the S.W. The ship channel between Anti- 
costi and the main land of Lower Canada is about 
40 miles broad.* 

On passing this island, the river St. Lawrence 
expands to a breadth of 90 miles 5 and in mid-chan- 
nel both coasts can be seen, the mountains on the 
N. shore having their snow capt crests elevated to 
a vast height, and appearing more continuous in 
their outline than the Pyrenean range. 

At the Bay of Seven Islands, which derives its 
name from the high and rugged islands which lie at 
its entrance, the St. Lawrence is 70 miles broad. 
There is deep water close to the islands, which ap- 
pear to rise abruptly out of the sea 5 the bay forms 
w T ithin a large round basin, with from 10 to 50 
fathoms soundings 5 at its head, the land appears 
to sink low in the horizon, while that on each side 
is high and rugged. 

From Seven Islands Bay to Pointe aux Peres 
there is little to attract attention, except two very 
extraordinary mountains, close to each other, called 
the Paps of Matana, nearly opposite to which is the 
bold and lofty promontory of Mont Pelee, where the 
river is little more than 25 miles wide. After pas- 
sing St. Barnabe Isle the voyager arrives at Bic 
island, (153 miles from Quebec), which is three miles 

* Sailing directions for navigators, lat. and long, of head- 
lands, bearings of light-houses, distances, variations of the 
compass, and every point a knowledge of which is essential to 
the mariner in the gulf and river of St. Lawrence will be found 
in the large Edition. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



in length, and nearly one in breadth. Good anchor- 
age is found here. The adjoining Seigniory of Bic 
on the main land is very uneven, and mountainous. 

Proceeding onwards, several beautiful islands are 
passed in succession ; Green and Red islands ; Hare 
ditto ; Kamouraska isles, the Pilgrims, Brandy Pots, 
and a variety of others, all clothed with wood, and 
some of them inhabited and cultivated. The Brandy 
Pots cluster is about 103 miles from Quebec. 
Abreast of Red islands, on the N. shore, is situ- 
ate the mouth of the Saguenay river. The St. 
Lawrence is here twenty miles wide, with an aver- 
age depth of twelve fathoms 5 and the village of 
Kamouraska in the county and seigniory of the 
same name, is the watering place, or Brighton of the 
Canadians. The mountains on both sides are very- 
high, often terminating in capes or bold headlands, 
which have a very fine effect 5 in general, and parti- 
cularly on the S. side, a low and level tract of land, 
varying in breadth, intervenes between the river and 
the mountain range 5 this tract is cultivated, and the 
delicious verdure of the corn fields is in strong con- 
trast with the sombre hue of the pine forests in the 
elevated and over shadowing back ground. The 
well cultivated isle aux Coudres is next visible, and 
then a very delightful prospect of the settlement of 
the Bay of St. Paul, enclosed within an amphi- 
theatre of very high hills. 

The Isle Aux Coudres just mentioned, is five miles 
in length and fifteen in circumference, about two 
miles from the N. shore of the St. Lawrence river, 
nearly opposite the Bay of St. Paul : compared with 



73 



THE CANADAS. 



the neighbouring main it is low, but rises towards 
the centre. The shore in a few places rises abruptly 
from the water, covered with a thick creeping shrub- 
bery 5 in general, however, it is, of easy ascent, and 
extremely picturesque, owing to the number of 
farms (400) on it. The island was granted in 1687, 
to the ecclesiastics of the seminary of Quebec, to 
whom it still belongs. The navigation of the river 
now becomes difficult, although the breadth is 13 
miles, owing to the narrowness of the main ship 
channel called the Traverse, which is contracted to 
1320 yards, by the isle Aux Coudres, the shoal of 
St. Roch and English bank. There are two other 
channels, but the rapidity of the current is much 
greater in them than in the Traverse, and the hold- 
ing ground bad ; however, with a good pilot and a 
fair wind, there is little or no risk. At the river du 
Sud, which forms a large basin before it disem- 
bogues itself into the St. Lawrence, the latter is 1 1 
miles in breadth, and the country assumes a charm- 
ing aspect, with a succession of villages, churches, 
telegraph stations, and farm-houses, all coloured white 
and producing a dazzling effect, in contrast with the 
dark woods which clothe the rising grounds in the 
distance to their very summits $ the coup d"ml pre- 
senting a landscape of interesting variety and beauty. 
Before arriving at the island of Orleans (four miles 
N.E. of Quebec), Goose and Crane islands, and many 
smaller ones (almost all inhabited), are passed. 
Orleans, or isle St. Laurent, 19 miles long, five and 
a half broad, and containing 69 square miles, divides 
the river into two channels. The shores incline 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



79 



gradually to the beach, but the land rises to some 
elevation towards the W. extremity of the isle, which 
is richly tilled by a population numbering 5,000, 
who derive much advantage from the rapid sale of 
their horticultural and agricultural productions, in 
the contiguous Quebec markets. The S. channel is 
always used by ships $ the mainland opposite is 
lofty 5 in some places mountainous, but so well cul- 
tivated that a large tract in the vicinity of Riviere 
du Sud, which flows from the S. through a pictu- 
resque, extensive, fertile and thickly settled country, 
has long been familiarly called the granary of the 
Province. 

Mr. McGregor truly observes that the river St. 
Lawrence and the whole country, from the lowest 
parishes to Quebec, unfold scenery, the magnificence 
of which in combination with the most delightful 
physical beauty, is unequalled in America, and, pro- 
bably, in the world. As the eminence is ascended, 
over which the post road passes, or in sailing up or 
down the St. Lawrence, there are frequently pros- 
pects which open a view of from 50 to 100 miles, 
of a river from 10 to 20 miles in breadth. The im- 
posing features of these vast landscapes consist of 
lofty mountains, wide vallies, bold headlands, luxu- 
riant forests, cultivated fields, pretty villages and 
settlements, some of them stretching up along 
the mountains : — fertile islands, with neat white 
cottages, rich pastures and well tended flocks ; — 
rocky islets, and tributary rivers, some rolling over 
precipices, and one of them, the Saguenay, like an 
inland mountain lake, bursting through a perpendi- 



so 



THE C ANADAS . 



cular chasm in the granite chain ; while on the bo- 
som of the St. Lawrence, majestic ships, large brigs, 
and schooners, either under sail or at anchor, with 
innumerable pilot boats and river craft, in active 
motion, charm the mind of the immigrant or tra- 
veller. 

We now approach the noble-looking capital of 
Lower Canada, Quebec ; where the St. Lawrence is 
only 1314 yards wide, but with a basin formed by 
the St. Charles river, below the city, of three and three 
quarters of a mile long, and two broad, w T ith the 
greatest depth of water at 28 fathoms, and a tide 
rising 1 8 feet at neaps, and 24 at spring tides. The 
scenery, on approaching Quebec, is truly magnifi- 
cent) on the left, point Levi, with its romantic 
church and cottages ; on the right, the western part 
of Orleans isle, so much resembling our own sweet 
Devonshire coast 5 beyond, the lofty mainland opens 
to view, and the spectator's attention is rivetted by 
the magnificent falls of Montmorenci, a river as 
large as the Thames at Richmond, and which preci- 
pitates its volume of constantly flowing waters over 
a perpendicular precipice 250 feet in height : the 
eye then runs along a richly cultivated country for 
miles, terminating in a ridge of mountains, with the 
city and battlements of Quebec, rising amphitheatri- 
cally, cresting, as it were, the ridge of Cape Dia- 
mond, and majestically towering above the sur- 
rounding country, as if destined to be the capital of 
an empire 5 the whole panorama being one of the 
most striking views in the Old or New World. 

Before proceeding with the description of the St. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



9 1 



Lawrence, we must stop to give a brief notice of 
this far-famed city. 

Quebec,* in lat. 46.48, long. 70.72, is situated 
upon the N.E. extremity of a rocky ridge or pro- 
montory, called Cape Diamond (350 feet above the 
water's edge), which runs for seven or eight miles 
to the westward, connected with another Cape called 
Cape Rouge, forming the lofty and left bank of the 
river St. Lawrence, w T hich is but for a short space in- 
terrupted by a low and flat valley to the N.E. adjoin- 
ing the level in which the river St. Charles now runs 
to the N. of the city.f The N. of the promontory 
has apparently been chosen as the site of the town, 
from its more gradual slope on this side than to 

* Etymologists have exercised their ingenuity in tracing the 
origin of this word ; some suppose it an Indian word sig- 
nifying a strait : others are of opinion that it arose from the 
Normans exclaiming when they first beheld the lofty pro- 
montory — 1 Quel-Bec P — It is even said that the city owes 
its name to a place on the Seine, probably Caudebec, — 
but Hawidns in his " Picture of Quebec," shews the word 
to be of Norman origin, and gives an engraving of a 
seal belonging to William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, dated 
in the seventh of Henry V., or a.d. 1420. The legend 
or motto is, " Sigillum Willielmi de laPole, Contitis SuffolcMa, 
Domini de Hamburg et de Quebec" Suffolk was impeached 
by the Commons of England in 1450, and one of the charges 
against him was his unbounded influence in Normandy, where 
he lived and ruled like an independent prince ; it is not there- 
fore improbable that he enjoyed the French title of Quebec in 
addition to his English honours. 

t This flat channel is supposed by Dr. Wright, Inspector of 
Hospitals, to have been at some distant period a second chan- 
nel to the St. Lawrence, which must have insulated the whole 
of the space, on the N.E. extremity of which thecity of Quebec 
now stands. 

G 



82 



THE CANADAS. 



the southward, which is precipitous. To the N. 
and W. of the city the ground slopes more gra- 
dually, and terminates in the St. Charles valley. 
The St. Lawrence flows to the southward of the 
city, washes the hase of the steep promontory of 
Cape Diamond, and unites its waters with the small 
river St. Charles, flowing along the N. side of the 
city, the junction being in front of the town, where 
they expand into a considerable basin forming the 
harbour of Quebec* On sailing up the river, no- 
thing of the city is seen until the spectator is nearly 
in a line between the W. point of Orleans isle and 
Point Levi, when (as eloquently expressed by an in- 
telligent and delightful traveller),! Quebec and its 
surrounding sublimities burst suddenly into view, the 
grand and vast landscape being so irresistibly striking, 
that few ever forget the majestically impressive pic- 
ture it presents. An abrupt promontory 350 feet high, 
crowned with an impregnable citadel, (the Gibraltar 
of the New World), surrounded by strong battle- 
ments, on which the British banners proudly wave ; 
the bright tinned steeples of the cathedrals and 
churches • the huge vice regal chateau of St. Louis, 
supported by piers, and overhanging the precipice X 
the denseness of the houses, and hangards (ware- 
houses) of the lower town 5 the fleet of ships at 
Wolf's Cove, and others at the wharfs 3 steamers 
plying in every direction 3 multitudes of boats of 

* The distance from one river to another across the ridge is 
rather more than a mile. 
*r John M'Gregor, Esq. 
X This old baronial pile was burnt in 1834, 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



83 



every shape 3 ships on the stocks, or launching 3 the 
white sheets of the cataract of Montmorenci tum- 
bling into the St. Lawrence over a 2 C 20 feet ledge : 
the churches, houses, fields and woods of Beauport 
and Charlesbourg, with mountains in the distance 3 
the high grounds, spire, &c. of St, Joseph 3 some 
Indian wigwams and canoes near Point Levi, and 
vast rafts or masses of timber descending on the 
noble river from the forests of the Ottawa, may con- 
vey some idea of the view unfolded to the traveller 
who sails up the St. Lawrence, when he first espies 
the metropolis of the British Empire in North 
America. 

The city is nominally divided into two, called the 
Upper and Lower towns : the latter being built 
at the base of the promontory, level with high 
water, where the rock has been removed to make 
room for the houses, which are generally con- 
structed in the old style, of stone, two or three stories 
high. The streets are narrow and ill ventilated. From 
the Lower to the Upper Town there is a winding 
street (Mountain-street), extremely steep, which is 
commanded by judiciously planted cannon, and ter- 
minates at an elevation of 200 feet above the river, at 
the city walls, or ' Break Neck Stairs,' where the 
Upper Town commences, extending its limits con - 
siderably to the westward, along the slope of the 
ridge, and up the promontory towards the Cape, with- 
in 50 or 60 yards of its summit. The aspect is N. 
and advantageously placed for ventilation, although 
the streets are narrow and irregular. There are sub- 



84 



THE CANADAS. 



urbs to each town 5 in the Upper, they extend along 
the slope of the ridge called St. John's 5 in the 
Lower, they extend along the valley from the St. 
Charles called the Rocks. The influence of the tides, 
which extend several leagues beyond Quebec, raise 
the waters at the confluence of the two rivers many 
feet above their ordinary level, and overflow the St. 
Charles valley, which rises gradually from the river 
to the northward, in a gentle slope for a few miles, 
until it reaches the mountains. This valley and 
slope is wholly under cultivation, and extremely rich 
and picturesque. The ridge orf which Quebec 
stands is also cultivated as far as Cape Rouge to the 
westward. 

In 1662 Quebec did not contain more than 50 
inhabitants • in 1759 the population was estimated 
at between S and 9,000 ; in 1825 and 1831 the 

census gave as follow r s : — 





18 


25. 


1831. 




Houses. 


Population. 


Population. 


Tipper Town l Quebec 
Lower Town |^ ueDec - 
Suburbs of St. Roch 

St. John . 

St. Lewis . 


480 
549 • 
1,128 
843 1 
120 J 


4,163 
3,935 
6,273 

6,025 


4,498 
4,933 
7,983 
6,918 
1,583 


Total* . 


3,120 


20,396 


25,916 



As a fortress Quebec may be now ranked in the 
first class, the citadel on the highest point of Cape 



* Exclusive cf the Banlieue of St, John and St. Lewis. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



85 



Diamond, together with a formidable combination 
of strongly constructed works, extending over an 
area of 40 acres : small batteries connected by ram- 
parts are continued from the edge of the precipice 
to the gateway leading to the lower town, which is 
defended by cannon of a large calibre, and the ap- 
proach to it up Mountain Street enfiladed and flank- 
ed by many large guns : a line of defence connects 
with the grand battery a redoubt of great strength 
armed with 24 pounders, entirely commanding the 
basin and passage of the river. Other lines add to 
the impregnability of Quebec if properly defended, 
the possession of which may be said to give the 
mastery of Upper as well as of Lower Canada.* 

A great number of commodious and elegant pub- 
lic buildings adorn Quebec — such as the Hotel Dieu, 
the Ursuline Convent, the Jesuit's Monastery (now 
a barrack), the Protestant and Catholic Cathedrals, 
the Scotch Church, Lower Town Church, Trinity 
and Wesleyan Chapels, Exchange, Bank, Court 

* On the W., and in front of the citadel, are the celebrated 
plains of Abraham, on which Wolfe and Montcalm fought and 
perished, and to whose united memories the chivalry of our 
own times (under the auspices of the gallant Earl of Dalhousie) , 
has erected an appropriate obelisk with the following inscrip- 
tion : — 1 Mortem virtus communem famam historia monumen- 
tum posteritas dedit. Hanc columnam in virorum illustrium 
memoriam Wolfe et Montcalm, P. C. Georgius Comes De 
Dalhousie in Septentrionalis Americae partibus ad Britannos 
pertinentibus summam rerum administrans ; opus per multos 
annos prsetermissum, quid duci egregio convenientius ? Auc- 
toritate promovens, exemplo stimulans, munificentia fovens. 
A. S. MDCCCXXVII.— Georgio IV. Britanniarum Rege.' 



86 



THE CANADAS. 



House, Hospitals, Barracks, Gaol, Seminary, &c. 
&c. The town in general is pretty much like an 
English or rather a French city, except that the 
houses are mostly roofed with shingles (small pieces 
of thin wood); many of the best houses, public 
buildings and great warehouses, are, however, co- 
vered with tin or iron plates, which, owing to the 
dryness of the climate, retain their brightness for 
many years. There are several distilleries, breweries, 
tobacco, soap, candle and other manufactories 5 ex- 
cellent ships are built here,* and every variety of 
tradesmen may be found in the Upper or Lower 
town. Many of the shops, or as they are called in 
America, stores, are stylishly fitted up, and in most 
of them every variety of goods, from a needle to 
an anchor, or a ribbon to a cable, is to be 
found. 

We may now proceed onwards up the St. Law- 
rence, which widens again after having passed Que- 
bec, w T hile the banks gradually lose the elevation 
observed at Cape Diamond, but are sloping and ex- 

* On the W. point of Orleans were built the Columbus and 
the Baron of Renfrew^ those vast leviathans of the deep which 
human ingenuity contrived to float on its bosom. These 
ocean castles were strongly framed, timbered and planked 
as lesser sized vessels, and not put together like rafts as 
generally supposed. The length of the Columbus on deck was 
320 feet, breadth 50, extreme depth 40 feet, and she had four 
gigantic masts, with every appurtenance in proportion ; 3,000 
tons weight were put on board of her before launching. It will 
be remembered that she reached England safely, and was water- 
logged on her return; the equally huge Baron of Renfrew 
reached the Thames, and was wrecked off Gravelines. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



87 



quisitely varied with groves, churches, white cot- 
tages, orchards and corn-fields, until arriving at 
Richelieu Rapid, 45 miles above Quebec 5 thence 
to Three Rivers (52 miles) there is little variation 
in the general aspect of the St. Lawrence, the high 
lands receding to the N. and S. with a low but cul- 
tivated country. About six miles above Three 
Rivers, the St. Lawrence expands itself over a level 
country, and forms Lake St. Peter, extending in 
length about 20 miles by 15 in breadth, but very 
shallow. At the head of the delta of the lake, the St. 
Lawrence receives the comparatively small but beau- 
tiful river Richelieu, sometimes called Chambly — at 
others, Sorell. To Montreal (90 miles from Three Ri- 
vers) the scenery is varied rather by the hand of man 
than by nature ; with the exception of numerous 
alluvial and richly tilled islets, many parts are ex- 
tremely picturesque and highly cultivated, there 
being a succession of parishes mostly consecrated 
to the memory of some saint, and so thickly peopled 
as to assume the appearance of one continued village, 
the N. shore, through which the post road passes, 
being the most populous. The tributary rivers 
which empty themselves into the St. Lawrence, and 
which are also settled on, require some notice ; be- 
fore, however, adverting to them, a brief descrip- 
tion of Montreal, the second city in the province, 
may be acceptable. 

Montreal, in 45. 46. N. Lat., is situate upon 
the N. or left bank of the St. Lawrence (160 
miles S. W. from Quebec), upon the Southern- 
most point of an island bearing the same name, 



88 



THE CAN ADAS. 



and which is formed by the river St. Lawrence on 
the S., and a branch of the Ottawa, or grand river, 
on the N. The island is in length from E. to W. 30 
miles, and from N. to S. eight miles : its surface is 
an almost uniform flat, with the exception of an 
isolated hill or mountain on its W. extremity, which 
rises from 500 to 800 feet higher than the river 
level. Along its base, and particularly up its sides, 
are thickly interspersed corn fields, orchards and 
villas, above which, to the very summit of the 
mountain, trees grow in luxuriant variety. The 
view from the top, though wanting in the sublime 
grandeur of Cape Diamond at Quebec, is romanti- 
cally picturesque : on the S. the blue hills of Ver- 
mont, and around a vast extent of thickly inhabited, 
cultivated and fertile country, embellished with 
woods, waters, churches, cottages and farms, — be- 
neath the placid city of Montreal — its shipping and 
river craft, and the fortified island of St. Helena, 
altogether exhibiting a scene of softly luxuriant 
beauty. Within a mile to the N. W. of the town 
the range of the mountain gradually declines for a 
few miles to the W. and N. to the level of the sur- 
rounding country. The bank of the river upon 
which Montreal is built, has a gradual elevation of 
20 to 30 feet, sloping again in the rear of the town, 
where there is a canal to carry off any accumulated 
water : the land then again undulates to the N. to 
a higher range, The streets are parallel with the 
river, and intersect each other at right angles ; the 
houses are for the most part of a greyish stone, 
covered with sheet iron or tin : many of them are 



PHYSICAL ASPECT, 



S9 



handsome structures, and would be considered as 
such even in London. Among the principal edifices 
are the Hotel Dieu, the Convent of Notre Dame, the 
General Hospital, the New College, Hopital general 
des Sceurs grises, the French Cathedral, English 
and Scotch Churches, Court House, Government 
House, Nelson's Monument, Barracks, Gaol, &c. 
&c. The new Roman Catholic Cathedral is the 
most splendid temple in the new world, and only 
surpassed in the old by interior grandeur. It was 
commenced in 1824, finished in 1829, and dedi- 
cated to the Virgin Mary. In length it is 225 feet, 
breadth 234, and the height of the walls is 1 12 feet. 
The architecture is of the rich Gothic of the 13th 
century. It has six massive towers, between which 
is a promenade along the roof 25 feet wide, ele- 
vated 112 feet. There are seven altars, and the E, 
window behind the grand altar is 70 feet high by 
33 feet broad ; the other windows 36 feet by 10. 
It is surrounded by a fine terrace, and the chime of 
bells, the clocks, altars, &c. correspond with the 
magnificent exterior. This splendid structure will 
accommodate 12,000 persons, who may disperse in 
six minutes by five public and three private en- 
trances. 

In the extent and importance of her trade — in the 
beauty of her public and private buildings — in the 
gay appearance of her shops, and in all the exter- 
nal signs of wealth, Montreal far surpasses the 
metropolitan city of the province. Its popula- 
tion in 1S25 was 22,357 : and in 1831, 27,297 ; at 
present it is about 35,000. The whole island is 



90 



THE CAN ADAS. 



comprised in one seigniory, and belongs to the 
priests who are consequently wealthy, but by no 
means rigorous in exacting the lods et ventes due to 
them on the mutation of land, — they usually com- 
pound for these fines. 

The islands contiguous to Montreal have been al- 
ready described ; and being compelled to a rigid eco- 
nomy of space, I proceed to notice the Ottawa or 
Grand River, which falls into the St. Lawrence 
above Montreal, and forms the north-western boun- 
dary of Lower Canada. 

The Ottawa or Grand River — has its origin 
in Lake Temis earning, upwards of 350 miles N.W. 
of its junction with the St. Lawrence — reckoning 
however Lake Temiscaming, as but an extension 
of the Ottawa, in the same manner as we have 
done Ontario, Erie, Huron, Superior, &c. with re- 
gard to the source of the St. Lawrence, the remotest 
spot whence the Ottawa issues is more than 100 
miles beyond Lake Temiscaming, giving it there- 
fore a course of nearly 500 miles. As before ob- 
served, little is known of the country generally, 
beyond the Falls and Portage des Allumettes, dis- 
tant 110 miles above Hull. At the Allumettes, 
the Ottawa is divided into two channels, the one to 
the N. E., the other to the S. W. of a large island, 
fifteen miles long by four broad : the southerly 
channel expands below the falls and rapids of the 
grand Allumettes to the width of three or four miles, 
at the head of which an arm of the river opens an 
entrance to the Mud and Musk Rat Lakes. Twelve 
miles further S. the river again forms into two 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



91 



channels, being separated by an island twenty miles 
in length by seven in breadth : owing to the nu- 
merous cascades and falls, the scenery on the Ot- 
tawa is here extremely wild and romantic. For ten 
miles, from the Cascades to the foot of the Che- 
naux, the Ottawa is singularly diversified by nu- 
merous beautiful islands, richly clad with trees of 
luxuriant foliage. Clustered in various parts of 
the river, these islands divide the stream into as 
many channels, through which the waters are impel- 
led with a degree of violence proportioned to the nar- 
rowness of their beds, and contribute to heighten the 
beauty of the landscape, the effect of which is not 
a little enhanced by the banks of the Ottawa being 
here composed of white marble, which can be traced 
for two or three miles along the margin of the 
stream. This delightful district is now being 
colonized, and the grateful soil repays with abun- 
dance the toil of the cultivators. 

The Gatineau rises in some large lakes far in the 
interior, traverses Hull, and falls into the Ottawa 
about half a mile farther down. It is navigable for 
steam-boats five miles from its mouth — it then be- 
comes rapid for fifteen miles, and is used for turn- 
ing several mills 3 then it is navigable for 300 miles 
for canoes, &c. traversing an immense and interest- 
ing vale, full of natural riches, and abounding in 
views of the wildest and most romantic interest. 

At the foot of the Chenaux the magnificent Lake 
des Chats opens to view, — in its extreme length 
fifteen miles and in mean breadth one, but with its 
N. shore so deeply indented by several sweeping 



02 



THE CANADA S. 



bays, as to extend the Chats at times to three miles 
in width. The richly wooded islets which stud the 
lake, add to the natural beauties of the sweetly soft 
scenery of the peculiarly glassy and beautiful Ot- 
tawa. Einnel lodge, the hospitable residence of the 
celebrated Highland chieftain Mac Nab, is roman- 
tically situated on the S. bank of the lake, about 
five miles above the head of the Chat rapids, which 
are three miles long, and pass amidst a labyrinth of 
varied islands, until the waters of the Ottawa are 
suddenly precipitated over the falls of the Chats, 
which to the number of fifteen or sixteen form a 
curved line across the river regularly divided by 
woody islands, the falls being in depth from sixteen 
to twenty feet. From the Chats to Lake Chaudiere 
(six miles) the Ottawa contracts its channel, but 
expands again to form this beautiful basin, which 
is eighteen miles long by five broad 5 the southern 
shores (forming a part of Upper Canada) are 
more bold, elevated and better settled than the 
northern, which are within the province of Lower 
Canada. 

At the S. E. end of the lake, rapids again impede 
the navigation, and continue successively from the 
head of Rapides des Chenes to the Chaudiere falls at 
Hull township. Above the falls, the Ottawa is 500 
yards wide, and its scenery agreeably embellished 
by numerous small grove clad islets, rising here 
and there amidst the waters as they gently ripple 
by, or rush on with more or less violence to the 
vortex of those broken, irregular, and extraordinary 
chasms, the Great and Little Kettle or Chaudiere. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT, 



98 



The principal falls are sixty feet in height by 212 
feet in width, — they are situate near the centre of 
the river, and attract by their forcible indraught a 
considerable proportion of the Ottawa's waters, 
which are strongly compressed by the circular shape 
of the rock that forms the boiling recipient ; — be- 
neath, the foaming heavy torrents struggle violently 
to escape, rising into clouds of spray, and as- 
cending at intervals in revolving columns of mist 
high above the cataract's surface. In the great 
Chaudiere or Kettle, the sounding line has not 
found bottom at 300 feet deep, and it is supposed 
that there are subterraneous passages to convey the 
immense mass of water beneath the river ; in fact 
half a mile down it comes boiling up again from 
the Kettles- 
It is across these singular fails that the cele- 
brated Union bridges which connect Upper and 
Lower Canada have been thrown, and they cer- 
tainly combine with the greatest possible effect, 
ingenious works of art with objects of natural gran- 
deur and sublimity. The chain consists Gf four 
principal parts, two of which are truss bridges, 
overhanging the channels, and unsupported by 
piers - } a third is a straight wooden bridge, and a 
fourth is built partly of dry stone (with two cut 
lime-stone arches) and partly of wood. 

The truss bridge over the broadest channel is 
L 212 feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty above 

* It has been said that a Cow one morning was carried over 
the fall, tumbled with the Cataract into the Little Kettle, and 
came up hale and well at Fox point, ten miles down the river ! 



94 



THE CANADAS. 



the surface of the Ottawa. The construction of 
these bridges was, as may well be supposed, at- 
tended with considerable difficulty. 

Below the Chaudiere- falls and Union bridges, the 
Ottawa has an uninterrupted navigation for steam 
boats to Grenville, sixty miles distant. The cur- 
rent is gentle, the river banks low and generally 
flooded in spring to a considerable distance, espe- 
cially on the N. or Lower Canada side • but though 
the scenery is tame, it is always pleasing, and as de- 
scribed by Colonel Bouchette, (to whom I repeat I 
am indebted for much valuable and interesting infor- 
mation) the frequently varying width of the river — 
its numerous islands — the luxuriant foliage of its 
banks 5 objects ever changing their perspective com- 
binations as the steamer moves along — and an in- 
fant settlement appearing here and there on the 
skirts of the forest, and the margin of the stream, 
are all in themselves possessed of sufficient interest 
to destroy the monotonous flatness upon this part of 
e Ottawa's tide.' 

At Grenville, commences the impetuous rapid 
termed the Long Sault, which is only stemmed or 
descended by voyageurs, or raftsmen of experienced 
skill and energy. Below Long Sault the Ottawa 
continues at intervals, rapid and unnavigable as far 
as Point Fortune, (immediately opposite the E. out- 
line of Chatham) where it expands into the lake of 
the Two Mountains, and finally forms a junction with 
the St. Lawrence river below the cascades, where 
the black hue of the waters of the Ottawa strongly 
contrasts with the blueish green of those of St. Law- 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



95 



rence, and renders the line of confluence distinctly 
visible. 

A few other rivers of Lower Canada which empty 
themselves into the St. Lawrence, require to be 
briefly noticed. 

Proceeding from the Ottawa down the St. Law- 
rence on the northern shore, we arrive at the large 
river — 

St. Maurice or three Rivers, which although 
of inconsiderable depth, is inferior in size only to 
the Ottawa and Saguenay. The St. Maurice drains 
an extent of country more than 140 miles in length, 
and 20 to 100 in breath, equivalent to 8,400 square 
miles. The source of the stream is a large lake 
called Oskelanaio, near the skirts of the N. W. ridge 
of mountains. The course is generally from N. to S. 
inclining a little to the eastward, and receiving many 
tributary rivers and lakes in its progress. 

Among the former are the Kasikan, Pisnay, Rib- 
bon, Windigo, Vermillion, Bastonais, Aux Rats, 
Mattouin and Shawanegan. After passing the falls 
of the latter river, the St. Maurice turns again to 
the south, and falls into the St. Lawrence below 
the town of Three Rivers, forming several islands 
at its mouth. The banks of the St. Maurice are 
generally high, and covered with large groups of 
fine majestic trees ; navigation for boats is prac- 
ticable for thirty-eight leagues to La Tuque, with 
the exception of the portages. At Wemontichin- 
que in 47 N. the St. Maurice is divided into 
three branches, and up the W. branch is a most ex- 
traordinary chain of lakes and navigable waters, the 



96 



THE CANADA S. 



number of which is estimated at twenty- three, varying 
in size and depth, the latter being in many places 
forty fathoms. There are about fourteen small islands 
of different sizes in various parts of the St. Maurice, 
and there are a variety of falls and cascades of greater 
or less extent. Those of Grand Mere, about four 
miles above the H&tres fall or cascade, are extremely 
beautiful and have a perpendicular descent of 30 feet. 
The stupendous falls of the Shawanegan, six and a 
half miles lower than the Hetres, are magnificent, the 
fall being 150 feet perpendicular, and the river rush- 
ing with terrific violence in tw T o channels against the 
face of the ciiu below, the channels are again united, 
and the vast and foaming torrent forces its way 
through a narrow passage not more than thirty yards 
vdde. Before quitting the St. Maurice, it may be pro- 
per to observe, that the large river AuxLievres, which 
has a course of upwards of 1 50 miles to the Ottawa, 
anastamoses with the St. Maurice, by means of the 
extraordinary chain of lakes (of which Lake Kempt 
is the principal) above described. 

Champlain River deserves a separate notice, 
owing to a particular event. It rises in the Seig- 
niory of Cap de la Magdelaine, running N. E. it tra- 
verses the country to Champlain, enters Batiscan 
where it turns S., and forming the boundary between 
the latter seigniory and Champlain, it falls into the 
St. Lawrence. An extraordinary circumstance is 
stated to have occurred on this river's banks a few 
years ago, which reminds us of the moving bogs in 
Ireland. A large tract of land containing a super- 
ficies of 207 arpents was instantaneously moved 360 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



97 



yards, from the edge of the water and precipitated 
into the river, which it dammed up to a distance of 
twenty-six arpents, and by obstructing the waters, 
caused them to swell to an extraordinary height : 
this singular event was accompanied by an appalling 
sound $ a dense vapour, as of pitch and sulphur, 
filled the atmosphere, oppressing the neighbouring 
inhabitants almost to suffocation. My authority for 
this statement is Col. Bouchette ; it appears to be a 
corroborating proof of the truth of the great earth- 
quake in 1663, as detailed under the Historical Section. 

Chaudiere river rising from Lake Megantic, 
waters a country of 100 miles in length, and about 
30 in breadth, thus clearing nearly 3,000 square miles 
of territory of its redundant waters : in breadth it va- 
ries from 400 to 600 yards 5 the stream is frequently 
divided by islands, some of them containing many- 
acres, and covered with timber trees. The banks of 
the Chaudiere are in general high, rocky, and steep, 
thickly clothed with wood 5 the bed of the river is 
rugged, and often much contracted by rocks, jutting 
out from the sides, which occasion violent rapids ; 
one of the most celebrated of these is about four 
miles from its mouth. Narrowed by salient points, 
extending from each side, the precipice over which 
the waters rush is scarcely more than 130 yards in 
breadth, and the height from which the water descends 
as many feet 3 huge masses of rock, rising above 
the surface of the current at the break of the fall, 
divide the stream into three portions, forming par- 
tial cataracts that unite before they reach the basin 

vol. 1. h 



98 THE CAN AD AS. 

which receives them below. The continual action 
of the water has worn the rock into deep excava- 
tions, which give a globular figure to the revolving 
bodies of brilliant white foam ; the spray, quickly- 
spread by the wind, produces in the sunshine a 
splendid variety of prismatic colours, while the dark- 
hued foliage on either side, pressing close on the 
margin of the river, forms a striking contrast with 
the snow-like effulgence of the falling torrent ; in- 
deed, few falls can be compared with those of Chau- 
diere for picturesque beauty, and they are frequently 
visited by the colonists or passing strangers. 

Richelieu River, called also Chambly, Sorel, St. 
Louis and St. John, deserves consideration, as af- 
fording a quick and easy water communication from 
the United States territory {via Lake Champlain) into 
the heart of Canada. Its principal origin is in the 
United States, and estimating its length from the 
south point of Lake George to the termination at 
Sorel or William Henry Town, on the banks of the 
St. Lawrence, it cannot be less than 160 miles — the 
medium extent of tract watered being thirty miles, 
thus draining a surface of 4,800 square miles ; only 
a portion of which lies within the province of British 
America, the distance from the boundary line to the 
mouth of the river being about seventy miles out of 
the 160. 

The banks of the river are generally from eight to 
twelve feet high, diversified on each side by many 
farms and extensive settlements, in a high state of 
improvement 5 on or near it are neat, populous and 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



99 



nourishing villages,, handsome churches, numerous 
mills of various kinds, good roads in all directions, 
and every characteristic of a prosperous country. 
From its junction with the St. Lawrence, decked 
vessels of 150 tons may ascend from twelve to fifteen 
miles, then the navigation is carried on by boats, 
canoes, rafts, and craft of large dimensions. The 
breadth of the bed at its mouth is 250 yards, which 
it preserves with a few exceptions, occasioned by 
some small and beautiful islands, up to Chambly 
basin, which is an expansion of the river nearly cir- 
cular, about a mile and a half in diameter, embel- 
lished by several little islands, and covered with fine 
verdure and natural wood, as ornamentally disposed 
as if regulated by the hand of art. From the basin 
of Chambly to the Isle du Portage the breadth is 
500 yards— beyond this it spreads to double that 
distance, and continues to widen still more or less to 
St. John's, where there is a ship navigation to the 
towns on Lake Champlain* 

Montmorenci river and falls cannot be passed 
over without notice. The river rises in Lac des 

* Lake Champlain, so called from the distinguished French- 
man who discovered it in 1609, lies between Vermont and New 
York; its whole length from Whitehall at its S. extremity to 
its termination, 24 miles N. of the Canada line, is 128 miles, 
with a breadth varying from one to sixteen miles, (mean width 
five miles,) and covering a surface of about 600 square miles. 
The outlet of the lake is the Richelieu River above described. 
There are above sixty islands of different sizes in the lake, the 
principal of which are N. and S. Hero and Isle Lamotte. N. 
Hero, or Grand Island, is twenty-four miles long and from two 
to four wide. Lake Champlain has a depth sufficient for the 

LofC. 



100 



THE CAN ADAS. 



Neiges ; its earlier course is small, but from its 
origin to its embouchure it is little better than a 
continued current, until it forms the celebrated cata- 
ract of Montmorenci, where its breadth is from six- 
teen to twenty yards, and the height of the fall 250 
feet, being 100 more than the Niagara. A little 
declination of the bed of the river before it reaches 
the fall, gives a great velocity to the stream, which is 
precipitated over the brink of the perpendicular rock 
in an extended sheet of a fleecy appearance resem- 
bling snow. An immense spray rises from the 
bottom in curling vapours, displaying, as observed 
with reference to the Chaudiere falls, an incon- 
ceivably beautiful variety of prismatic colours. 

I will not detain the reader by any more details re- 
specting the numerous rivers that empty themselves 
into the St. Lawrence, after noticing the Saguenay, 
which is a very remarkable river, and deserving the 
attention of the tourist or scientific traveller. It rises 
in Lake St. John,* and flows 10S miles before its junc- 
tion with the St. Lawrence, which takes place 100 miles 
below Quebec. The course of the Saguenay is inter- 
rupted by foaming torrents, and its width, though al- 
ways considerable, varies much like the other N. Ame- 

largest vessels ; half the rivers and streams which rise in Ver- 
mont fall into it, and it receives at Ticonderago the waters of 
Lake St. George from the S. S. W. which is said to be 100 feet 
higher than the waters of Lake Champlain. It is well stored 
with fish. 

* Situate between the parallels 48.27. to 48.51. N. Lat. and 
71.35. to 72.10. W. Long. ; about 100 miles in circumference 
and nearly circular. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



101 



rican rivers • depth at its mouth in mid-channel 
has not been ascertains . Captain Martin could not 
find bottom with 330 fathom^ of line * , two miles 
higher, soundings 140 fathoms, and «t qeventy miles 
from the St. Lawrence, soundings of from fifty to 
sixty fathoms. Thirty rivers pour their tributaij 
waters into the Saguenay, many of them navigable 
for large boats. The banks of this noble stream 
vary from 200 to 2000 feet in height, rising in some 
places vertically from the river's side 5 the scenery 
throughout being wildly magnificent. As far up as 
Chicoutimi, (75 miles from its mouth), the bases of 
the lofty and sometimes scantily wooded mountains 
of granite laved on both sides by its waters. The Point 
Aux Bouleaux and the land for some distance on the 
W. side of its mouth ; are alluvial deposits, contain- 
ing probably the richest soil in the world, being 
composed of a species of soapy- grey marl, from 
thirty to forty feet deep. Sixty miles from the mouth 
of the Saguenay, (where the port of Tadoussac is 
situate in Lat. 48. 5, Long. 69.3/.) is a very re- 
markable harbour, called Bay de Has, or Ha- Ha- Bay, 
capable of affording shelter to the largest ships of 
the line, which may sail directly into the bay with 
the same wind that brought them within its entrance. 
This remarkable bay is from seven to nine miles in 

* It has been stated since that a ridge of rocks below 
the surface of the water, lies across the Saguenay's mouth, 
through which there is a channel 1 20 feet deep, within this 
the depth increases to 840 feet, so that the bed of the Saguenay 
is absolutely 600 feet below that of the St. Lawrence, into 
which it falls. Its reported terrific whirlpools are fabulous. 



THE CAN ADAS. 



length, and two and a half in wiH**> wilb g ood an- 
chorage varying from fiftp~* to thirty-five fathoms. 
Bay de Has open« JuC0 another bay or basin. Vast 
tracts of ar^ 16 land, with a rich soil of blue and grey 
mar l, surround these singular bays, extending to 
l^ake Kiguagomi and Chicoutimi, with which a 
water communication may readily be opened, avoid- 
ing the circuitous route by the Chicoutimi river. 

As the great Canadian lakes * will come under the 
topographical description of Upper Canada, I close 
this section with the following enumeration of the 
chief rivers and lakes on either side of the St. Law- 
rence, which will demonstrate how well irrigated this 
fine country is ; but in order that this division of the 
rivers and lakes may be better understood, I give 
here the divisions of the province, reserving for the 
chapter on population a more minute subdivision of 
the territory into counties, &c. 

The district of Quebec (including Anticosti and 

* I may here allude to two lakes in Lower Canada, Matape- 
diac and Memphramagog. The former is about sixteen miles 
long, and three broad in its greatest breadth ; about twenty-one 
miles distant from the St. Lawrence river in the co. of Ri- 
mouski, amidst the islands that separate the waters running 
into the St. Lawrence, from those that run to the Bay of Cha- 
leurs, it is navigable for rafts of all kinds of timber, with 
w T hich the banks of the noble river Matapediac are thickly co- 
vered. Memphramagog Lake, in the co. of Stanstead, stretching 
its S. extremity into the state of Vermont, is of a semi-circular 
shape, thirty miles long and very narrow. It empties itself into 
the fine river St. Francis, by means of the river Magog, which 
runs through Lake Scaswaninepus. The Memphramagog Lake 
is said to be navigable for ships of 500 tons burthen. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



103 



other islands) extends along the St. Lawrence 826 
miles, is in depth inland 360, and contains 127,949 
superficial square miles. Montreal (including islands) 
110 along the St. Lawrence, 310 inland, and 
54,802 superficial square miles. Three Rivers (in- 
cluding St. Francis and islands) 52 along the St. 
Lawrence, 320 inland, and 1 5,823 superficial square 
miles. Gaspe peninsula (including islands) 80 along 
the St. Lawrence, 200 inland, and 7,289 superficial 
square miles. Total superficies in square miles, 
205,863. 

Quebec District. — Rivers. N. of St. Lawrence : 
St. Anne, Jaques Cartier, Batiscan, St. Charles, 
Montmorenci, Gouffre, Mai Bay, Black River, Sagu- 
enay, Belsianite, St. John, St. Anne, L., Portneuf. 
S. of St. Lawrence : Chaudiere, part of, Etchemin, 
Du Sud, Du Loup, Greenriver, Rimouski, Trois Pis- 
toles, Mitis, Tartigo, Matane, Madawaska, St. Francis, 
part of, St. John, part of. Lakes. N. of St. Law- 
rence : St. John's, Commissioners, Quaquagamack, 
Wayagamac, Bouchette, Kajoulwang, Ontaratri, St. 
Charles, Chawgis, Assuapmoussin, Shecoubish. S. of 
St. Lawrence : Temiscouata, Matapediac, Mitis, Abaw- 
sisquash, Longlake, Pitt, Trout, William, St. Francis, 
McTavish, Macanamack. 

Montreal District. — N. of St. Lawrence: Ga- 
teneau, Lievres, Petite Nation, Riviere Blanche, 
Riviere Du Nord, Mascouche, Achigan, L'Assomp- 
tion, Lachenaye, Berthier, Chaloupe, Du Ch&ne. 
S. of St. Lawrence : Richelieu, Sorely Yamaska and 
branches, Pike, Montreal L., Chateauguay and 
branches, Lacolle, Magog, Coaticook, Missiskoni. 



104 



THE CAXADAS. 



Lakes. N. of St. Lawrence : White Fish, Sabbls, 
Killarney, Temiscaming, Lievres, Le Roque, Roche- 
blanc, Pothier, Nimicachinigue, Papineau, Maski- 
nonge. S. of St. Lawrence : Memphramagog,Tome- 
fobi, Missiskoui Bay, Scaswaninepus pt., Yamaska 
Bay, St. Louis, Two Mountains, St. Francis, Chau- 
diere, Chats, Allumets. 

Three Rivers District. — N. of St. Lawrence : 
St. Maurice and Branches, Baticcan pt., Champlain, 
Du Loup G. and L., Maskinonge, Machiches. S. of 
St. Lawrence : St. Francis and branches, Nicolet and 
do. Becancour, Gentilly, Yamaska, part of. Lakes. 
N. of St. Lawrence: O'Cananshing, Matawin, Gold- 
finch, Shasawataiata, Montalagoose, Oskelanaio, 
Crossways, Perchaudes, Blackbeaver, Bewildered. 
£. of St. Lawrence : Nicolet, St. Francis, point of, 
Megautie, St. Paul, Outardes, Blacklake, Connecti- 
cut, Weedon, Scaswaninepus pt. St. Peter. 

The vast territory embraced in the province of 
Upper Canada, as regards the inhabited parts, is in 
general, a level, champaign country ; for, from the 
division line on Lake St. Francis to Sandwich, a dis- 
tance of nearly 600 miles westerly, nothing like a 
mountain occurs, although the greater part of the 
country is gently undulated into pleasing hills, fine 
slopes, and fertile vallies : but a ridge of rocky 
country runs north-east and south-westerly through 
the Newcastle and Midland districts, towards the 
Ottawa or Grand River, at the distance of from fifty 
to one hundred miles from the north shore of Lake 
Ontario and the course of the River St. Lawrence. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



105 



Passing this ridge to the north, the explorer de- 
scends into a wide and rich valley of great extent, 
which is again bounded on the north by a rocky and 
mountainous country, of still higher elevation. 

Farther to the north, beyond the French river 
which falls into Lake Huron, are immense moun- 
tains, some of them of great but unknown elevation. 

The country on the north and* west side of Lake 
Ontario, and of Lake Erie which is still further 
west, continues flat as far as Lake Huron, with only 
occasional moderate elevations of the surface of easy 
ascent. In the whole extent of this tract of country, 
there is but a small portion of it under cultivation, 
the remainder being in its primitive state of forests, 
lakes, and rivers 3 the latter for the most part falling 
into the great lakes, or into larger rivers, which 
again empty themselves into the great artery of the 
country, the St. Lawrence. The settlements are 
chiefly confined to the borders, or within a few miles 
of the borders of the great lake and rivers. In 
order to convey a clear idea of the physical aspect 
of the province, it will be necessary to proceed at 
once to a description of its vast inland seas. 

Lakes of Upper Canada. — Superior, called also 
Keetcheegahmi and Missisawgaiegon, the largest and 
most elevated of those singular seas,* which in 
Canada seem to occupy or supply the place that 
great mountains do in other countries, is situate be- 
tween the meridians of 92.19 and 84.18 west longi- 

* The lakes of Upper Canada are innumerable, a few of those 



106 



THE CAN AD AS. 



tude, and the parallels of 49.1 and 46.26 north 
latitude, * and in the form of an irregular oblong 
basin, about 1,255 geographical miles in circum- 
ference, in length from east to west on a curved line 
through its centre 541 miles, f in its extreme breadth 
(opposite Peak Island) 140 geographical miles with 

best known are as follow — (Superior and Ontario are unfa- 
thomable in the centre.) 



Names. 


Length. 


Breadth. 


Circum- 
ference. 


Average 
depth. 




Miles. 


Miles. 


Miles 


Feet. 


Superior 


541 


140 


1225 


1000 


Huron 


250 


190 


1100 


860 


Michigan 


260 


90 


1000 




Erie 


280 • 


63 


700 


250 


Ontario 


180 


80 


500 


500 


Simcoe 


40 


30 


120 




St. Clair 


35 


30 


100 


20 


George 


25 




58 




Rice Lake 


24 


2 to 5 


58 





* The variation of the magnetic needle is from 2.42. to 12. 
18. east; the dip at Fort William is 77.58, and the variation 
there 9.5. east, the latter increasing gradually from the east to 
the west extremity of the lake, being greatest near the grand 
portage and Isle Royale, but the needle, (according to the 
scientific Captain Bayfield, R. N. who has written a valuable 
paper on the geology of this lake,) is very much disturbed in 
many places by the magnetic nature of the oxides of iron which 
enter into the composition of many of the rocks. 

f This measurement commences from Point Iroquois, at the 
mouth of the River St, Mary, (communicating with Lake Hu- 
ron), passes on the outskirts of all bays, (except their breadth 
rendered the crossing dangerous,) and circumnavigating Point 
Keewanoonan, terminates at the mouth of the river St. Louis 
at the Fond du Lac. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



a depth actually measured of from 80 to 150 fathoms 
and without soundings in its centre the waters al- 
ways extremely cold, as pure and clear as any in the 
w 7 orld, and devoid of tides, or any other kind of perio- 
dical rise and fall. During heavy gales of wind, the 
waters of this, and the other great lakes, are raised 
into ocean-like w T aves,* with currents in various di- 
rections : on the breaking up of the winter snows 
and ice, the waters of the lakes are higher than at 
any other times, while it is a prevalent opinion that 
there is a gradual diminution of the waters of Supe- 
rior, Huron, Ontario, &c. as shewn by their banks. 
[See Geology.] 

This monarch of the lakes in the Old or New 
World, is placed to the south of, and near to the 
ridge of high lands, which stretching from the rocky 
mountains to Lake Superior, in broad diluvial plains 
and undulations, divides the w 7 aters, flowing into the 
Mexican gulf, from those of Hudson's Bay 5 and 
proceeding from Lake Superior eastward to the 
Coast of Labrador, in a continuous range of hills, con- 
stitutes the, north dividing range of the valley of the 
St. Lawrence, as described under Lower Canada. 
From near the west-end of the lake, this ridge is lost 
to the south, and in the elevations of the United 

* The sea (if it may be so termed,) on Lake Ontario, is so 
high during a sharp gale, that it was at first thought the smaller 
class steam boats could not live it • and on Lake Superior, the 
waves almost rival those of the far-famed cape of storms, while 
the ground swell, owing to the comparative shallowness, or little 
specific gravity of the fresh water, is such as to make the oldest 
sailor sick. 



108 



THE CANADAS. 



States, still affording a connected series of succes- 
sively descending levels for the St. Lawrence, its 
Lakes, and vast tributaries, the Ottawa, Saguenay,&c. 

The surface of Superior is 617 feet above — and 
the bottom of its basin (so far as we can estimate 
its sounding) upwards of 500 feet below the level of 
the Atlantic ocean, and 52 ^ feet above Lake Erie : 
it receives 220 tributary rivers and streams, which 
pour into the lake a greater volume of water than 
makes its exit at the only outlet (the falls of St. 
Mary, which connects Superior with Lake Huron) ; 
the water discharged into Huron, being far less in 
quantity than that poured into Superior from nume- 
rous rivers, in order to supply the immense evapo- 
ration continually going on. 

The length of the American shore of Lake Su- 
perior from the mouth of the Ontonagon is 500 
miles 5 the Canadian coast is estimated at 1200 miles 
in length. Some of the rivers on the S. coast are 153 
miles long j the principal of these the Ontonagon, 
or Coppermine, Montreal, Mauvaise, Boisbrule, and 
St. Louis, communicate with the Mississippi. 

Numerous islands exist in various parts of the lake, 
some of considerable size 5 Isle Royale is 45 miles 
long by 7 or 8 broad, lying in north-east and south- 
west direction ; Caribou is about 6 miles in circum- 
ference, and the Islands of the Twelve Apostles are 
23 in number, with perpendicular cliffs of sandstone 
on the north and south-east, 60 feet in height. At 
Les For tallies and Grand Island, there are perpen- 
dicular cliffs broken into the most beautiful and 
picturesque arches, under some of which a boat can 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



109 



pass, porticos, columns, and caverns of immense 
dimensions. 

The shores of Lake Superior (whose direction is 
east and west) are in several places rocky, consi- 
derably elevated, with occasional large sandy bays,* 
and jetting bold promontories : the great promon- 
tory or peninsula of Keewanonan, dividing it into 
two equal sections, is very high at its central part, 
consisting of steep conical granite hills. 1000 feet 
above the lake. Of the country around Lake Su- 
perior, whether on the American or on the British 
territory, we have but an imperfect knowledge ; 
there is a great extent of hill and dale, and in some 
places, what in Upper Canada may be termed moun- 
tains, ranges of 1,500 feet above the level of the lake, 
and consequently 2,100 feet above the ocean.f 

At Gr os-Cap (where Lake Superior is entered, 
from the River St. Mary, which connects it with 
Lake Huron) the prospect is not only beautiful but 
magnificent, when aided by considerations of the re- 
moteness, magnitude, and celebrity of this vast body 
of water 5 the spectator standing beneath the shat- 
tered crags 300 feet high, has before him an almost 
boundless flood, which, if it burst its barriers, would 
overwhelm a continent : in the front a low island, 
on the south, Point Iroquois declining from a high 
tabular hill, and on the N.W. a picturesque and 
elevated country is dimly seen in the distance. 

* It is sandy from Point Iroquois to the pictured rocks, then 
rocky to the foot of the Fond du Lac, with occasional plains of 
sand. 

t The Porcupine mountains, 200 feet high, approach the 
Lake on the south-shore in Long. 90. 



110 



THE CANADAS. 



The line of rocky hills constituting the north shore 
of Lake Superior consists of rocks and crags, piled 
upon each other to the height "of 150 or 200 feet at 
the north end, and about 400 to 450 feet at the south 
end, where they dip into the lake, from an elevation 
of 300 feet, in advanced broken scraps, lowering, 
successively on each other. Along the east shore of 
the lake from Gros Cap to the River Michipicoton 
(125 miles) are several promontories, and beautiful 
bays and rivers ; among these are Batchewine and 
Huggewong Bays, off the mouth of which latter is 
the island termed Montreal, or Hogguart. The west 
end of Lake Superior termed Fond du Lac, is a 
slowly contracting Cnl de sac commencing in Long. 
91. at the promontory opposite the Twelve Apostles 
Isles, running 80 miles in length, with a breadth of 
eight to ten miles at the bottom. 

There are 139 rivers* and creeks on the whole of 
the south shore, but fewer in the east than in the 
western division. Some of the mountains near the 
lake, such as Thunder Mountain rise to the height of 
1,400 feet : this latter is of considerable breadth, 
several miles long, and almost tabular at the west, 
with the east or other half irregular and hummocky. 
In general, the hills have flat pine clad summits, 
giving variety to the prospect. The pictured rocks (so 
called from their appearance) are situate on the south 
side of the lake, towards the east end, and are really 
quite a natural curiosity ; they form a perpendicular 
wall, 300 feet high, extending about 12 miles, with 

* The river St. Louis is 150 yards broad at its mouth, but 
expands immediately into a sheet of water five or six miles 
wide, extending inland 23 miles of varying breadth. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



Ill 



numerous projections and indentations in every va- 
riety of form, and vast caverns, in which the enter- 
ing waves make a jarring and tremendous sound. 
Mr. Schoolcraft describes the pictured rocks of Lake 
Superior as " surprising groups of overhanging pre- 
cipices, towering walls, caverns, waterfalls, and 
prostrate ruins, which are mingled in the most won- 
derful disorder, and burst upon the view in ever 
varying and pleasing succession." Among the more 
remarkable objects are the Cascade La Portaille and 
the Doric Arch ; the cascade consists of a con- 
siderable stream, precipitated from a height of 70 
feet by a single leap into the lake, and projected to 
such a distance that a boat may pass beneath the 
fall and the rock, perfectly dry. 

The Doric Arch has all the appearance of a work 
of art, and consists of an isolated mass of sandstone, 
with four pillars supporting an entablature of stone, 
covered with soil, and a beautiful grove of pine and 
spruce trees, some of which are 60 feet in height. 

The lake is subject to storms, sudden transitions 
of temperature, and dense fogs and mists. The main 
heat for June is 66° and for July 64°, and of the lake 
61° 5 but the winter is terribly severe and long. The 
usual forest trees are white and yellow pine, oak, 
hemlock, spruce, birch, poplar, with a mixture of 
elm, maple, and ash, upon some of the rivers' banks. 

It remains only to be added that, the waters of Lake 
Superior are very transparent, that their lower strata 
never gain the temperature of summer, for a bottle 
sunk to the depth of 100 feet in July, and there filled, 



112 



THE CANADAS. 



is, when brought to the surface like ice water. It 
abounds with trout (weighing from 12lbs. to 50lbs. 
weight) sturgeon, and white fish large in propor- 
tion, together with pike, pickerel, carp, bass, herring, 
and numerous other species. 

The St. Mary's River or Strait, which connects 
Lake Superior with Lake Huron, is about 60 miles 
long."* 

The great rapids, by which travellers usually enter 
Lake Superior, are termed the falls of St. Mary, 
in length about three-quarters of a mile by half a 
mile in breadth, the river being here narrowed by 
a broad tongue of land, protruding from the north 
shore, and affording a site for the store houses of the 
Hudson Bay Company they are fifteen miles from 
Lake Superior, in 46.31 north latitude, with a descent 
of twenty-two feet ten inches in 900 yards. The 
rapids are swift flowing billows and broken whitened 
waters, hurried with velocity over a slope of ledges 
and huge boulder stones, through a thickly wooded 
country, whose want of elevation, on either shore, 
has permitted the formation on each side of a number 
of islets, divided by channels, which are narrow on 
the left but much wider on the right bank ; the beds 
and their sides are lined with large rolled masses, 
similar to those found in Superior and Huron. The 
right bank of the rapid varies from 10 to 50 feet in 
height, composed of light alluvial earth ; this accli- 

* Some persons think a subterraneous communication exists 
between all the great lakes, as is surmised to be the case be- 
tween the Mediterranean and Euxine. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



113 



vity is more distant on the Canadian shore. The St. 
Mary extends above the rapids about fifteen miles 
through a low well- wooded country, and its bed is 
from one mile to one mile and a half wide. The 
current ceases to be felt by boats, two miles above 
the rapids. Immediately below the rapids, the St. 
Mary widens to upwards of a mile. 

Lake Huron, the third from the Atlantic ocean* 
of the great chain of lakes which occupy the four 
plateaux of the upper part of the valley of St. Law- 
rence, is of a very irregular shape 5 in length 250 
miles, by 190 miles in breadth, with a depth of 860 
feet, a height, on its surface above the ocean level, 
of 590 feet • and covering an area of 5,000,000 
acres. Along the north shores of this beautiful in- 
land sea, stretch a chain of islands (the Manitoulin, 

* Lakes Huron and Michigan are parts of the same body of 
water, separated only by the strait of Michilimacinak, but as 
Michigan is entirely claimed by the United States, it does not 
come within my notice. I may, however, observe, that it is 
160 miles long, by 55 broad, and 800 miles in circumference, 
covering an area of 16,200 square miles, or 10,368,000 acres, 
and navigable for ships of the largest burthen. Green Bay- 
extends from the N. end of the lake 90 miles in a S. W. di- 
rection, with a width of from 15 to 20 miles. Across its en- 
trance is a chain of islands, called the Grand Traverse, the 
channels between which admit vessels of 200 tons burthen, 
and sloops of this size can ascend to the head of this extensive 
bay. From the bottom of Green Bay, boats can ascend the 
Ontagamis or Fox River, to within two miles of the Oniscousin, 
to the head of which a portage is made, and a descent can 
thence be made to the Mississippi. The tributaries of Michigan 
are extremely numerous, some of them full flowing rivers, but, 
so far as we know, none are of any great length. 

VOL. I. I 



114 



THE CANADAS. 



or Sacred Isles) from east to west the distance, 
curved, of 125 miles, (direct distance between the 
extremes 9? miles) ; many of them from 25 to 30 
miles long, by 10, 12, and even 55 broad. 

Drummond Island (one of the Manitoulins) is 24 
miles long, and from 2 to 12 broad, ranging nearly 
east, and at the west end approaching the main land 
of the United States, where it forms the strait of the 
True Detour, the principal commercial route to Lake 
Superior ; the strait is scarcely a mile wide, and 
bounded by two promontories ; the coast of the 
United States is here flat and woody, with morasses, 
— that of the island is irregular, and covered with 
large masses of rock. In the higher and middle parts 
of Drummond Isle, the elevation is from 200 to 250 
feet, inclining on either side to the water, often pre- 
senting low white precipices, in broken lines, on 
the summit or sides of the slopes 5 the south coast 
of the island is broken into small but deep bays, 
with shoal points ; and those on the west containing 
many islets, — one of which (according to the intel- 
ligent gentleman to whom I am indebted for many 
observations on Lake Huron*) has an immense de- 
posit of iron pyrites ■ the north coast is distinguish- 
ed by the magnitude of its bays, and the groups of 
islands which cover the contiguous waters. This 
coast is terminated on the east, in the strait called 
False Detour, by a calcareous precipice of consider- 
able beauty, 500 yards long, and 250 feet high $ at 
the top it is a terrace of rock, below it is separated 
from the lake by a narrow and high beach. This 
* Dr. Eigsby. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



115 



singular island produces very fine maple, of the 
bird's eye and curled kinds, pines, cedar, hemlock, 
poplar, and birch. 

The False Detour, which separates Drummond 
Island from the little Manitoulin (or Cockburn 
Island), is from 8 to 10 miles long, and from 3 to 
6 miles wide, with a middle depth seldom less than 
40 fathoms ; the opening from the south is spaci- 
ous and bold, with three fine capes on the west, and 
one on the east. At the north outlet, the shores are 
very much rounded, with precipices on the west, and 
woody steeps to the east : in front, is that part of 
Lake Huron termed the North Channel, studded with 
a few islets in pairs, and terminated in the distance by 
the misshapen hills of the north main 5 on the north- 
west is a blue waving line of the heights of St. 
Joseph, and on the north-east the looming of the 
isles at the foot of the La Cloche is just visible. 

Little Manitoulin observes an east course, is of a 
rounded form, with a diameter of seven or eight 
miles, and with features somewhat similar, though 
more elevated, than Drummond Isle : the shores are 
loaded with successive banks or stairs of small de- 
bris, with here and there terraces of limestone, in 
situ ; inland, the surface ascends rugged, with pro - 
truding strata rolled in primitive masses, and not 
unfrequently intersected by short ledges, which often 
crown the greatest heights, affording a table land of 
small extent, and well wooded. 

Between the Little and Grand Manitoulin is the 
third Detour, eight miles long by four broad, with 
high shores, and clear at both outlets. 



116 



THE CANADAS. 



The Grand Manitoulin, or " Sacred"* Isle, is 75 
miles long, and, in some places, 25 miles broad, but 
deeply indented by bays, which nearly divide the 
island $ its general features are similar to those of the 
two preceding named islands, only it is higher, abounds 
more in precipices, and is rugged throughout. At the 
west, its features are more majestic than is observable 
in any other part of Lake Huron. At the north end 
of the third detour, its shores are lined with ranges 
of shingle, supported behind by an ascending country 
of woods : towards the centre of this strait, ledges 
and low precipices begin to appear along the beach, 
soon rising to the height of c 250 feet, crowned with 
cedars and pines : these ledges either rise perpendi- 
cularly, or are formed of enormous piles of displaced 
masses, from seven to ten yards in diameter, sloping 
at a high angle, sometimes advancing into the waters 
of the lake, and affording a hazardous passage over 
their slippery sides, under arches and through wind- 
ing passages. Near the south-east angle of the 
Detour, a bluff precipice, 40 feet high, protrudes into 
the water, skirted by very large cubic masses of rock, 
— of which masses the bluff is composed. Out of these 
natural precipices arise clumps of beautiful trees, and 
knolls of flowering shrubs, shadowed in the back 
ground by the dense gloom of impenetrable forests. 
The other islands in the Manitoulin chain require 

* The Indian appellation of " sacred isles" first occurs at 
Lake Huron, and thence westward is met with Superior, 
Michigan, and the vast and numerous lakes of the interior 
Those who have been in Asia, and have turned their attention 
to the subject, will recognise the resemblance in sound between 
the N.A. Indian and Tartar names. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



117 



no separate notice, if we except those singularly 
shaped insulated rocks called the Flower Pots, 6 
miles S.S.E. of the fourth Manitoulin, one of which 
rises 47 feet high, and consists of large tabular 
masses placed horizontally one upon the other, nar- 
row below, but broad as they ascend to the summit, 
— the whole standing on a floor of rock projecting 
into the lake from the lofty island which bears their 
name. Cabot's Head is a singular looking head- 
land, in Michipocoton, or Georgiana Bay, consisting 
of indented limestone bluffs, rising to the height of 
300 feet, and skirted by numerous reefs and islets, 
and to the south-west presenting a continued range 
of calcareous precipices. 

Before proceeding further south on this beauti- 
ful and extraordinary lake, we must observe the 
shores of the Huron, between the Manitoulins and 
the Chippawa hunting country. From the French 
River (which connects Lake Nipissing with Lake 
Huron) westwards to the Islands of La Cloche, about 
50 miles distant, the lake near the shore is studded 
with innumerable islands ; some near the main, barren, 
composed of gneis, and like heaps of ruins others, 
farther out in the lake, loftier, and girded with a belt 
of flat ground, consisting of shelly limestone, richly 
wooded. Further west the Islands of La Cloche* 
form a charming contrast to the bleak hills on the 
main, which rise 1000 feet above the level of the 
lake 5 and with their dark green forests diversified 

* The name is derived from the belief that some of the 
islands are composed of dark rocks, which, when struck, sound 
like a bell. 



118 



THK CANADAS. 



by grassy vales and clumps of trees, appear like an 
artificial English park. Groups of islands occupy 
the lake from La Cloche to Missalaga River, 60 
miles distant $ some near the main low and barren, 
others, elevated and woody 5 beyond the Missalaga, 
is a low rocky shore. The north-west arm of Lake 
Huron, which communicates with Lake Superior, is 
of an oblong shape, the two longer sides at their 
western extremities converging towards the north ; 
it contains about 400 square miles, and is crowded 
with islands of all sizes 3 the principal, St. Jo- 
seph,* is 65 miles in circumference, through 
which runs an undulating ridge, called the Highlands 
of St. Joseph, 500 feet high : the north-west point 
of St. Joseph is in longitude 84, and latitude 46.18. 
Pelletan's Channel, dividing St. Joseph from the 
main, is remarkable for fine scenery. Portlock 
Harbour, a British military position, 1100 miles 
from Quebec, is an extensive haven, interspersed 
with rocky islets, and girt by woody hills start- 
ing forth in a series of verdant or rocky capes. 
Muddy Lake, bounding the south-west side of St. 
Joseph's Isle, is a noble sheet of water 17 miles 
long, and varying from two to seven in breadth*; 
its shores are deep embayments, ending in grassy 
marshes, especially on the south-east side. 

The Michilimackinac, or south-west arm of Lake 
Huron, leading into Lake Michigan, has only been 

* This island belongs to the English, and its neighbour^ 
Dmmmond Isle, to the United States, and on each are small 
military detachments belonging to their respective govern- 
ments, 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



119 



examined by the engineers of the United States, and 
their report has not been published. On the side of 
Michiliinackinac (which is eleven miles wide) is the 
peninsula called False Presquisle. The view into 
Lake Michigan, from Michilimackinac Isle, which 
lies in the strait of that name, midway from either 
main, is particularly pleasing ; the land, which at 
first closes on the water, at once dilates into a spa- 
cious sound, with curving' shores and woody capes, 
interspersed in the distance with clusters of islands. 
The pretty hamlet of St. Ignace, the high white 
cliffs of Michilimackinac, contrasted with th§ dark 
foliage around, and the blue light streaming through 
the sound from the vast lake beyond, offer a rich 
field for the lovers of natural scenery. Nothing is 
worthy of remark down the south-east shore, as far 
as Thunder Bay and Middle Islands, which are flat, 
calcareous, and well covered with timber of various 
kinds. The Gulf of Saguina the English know little 
about : from Pont aux Barques to the River St. 
Clair, is a straight line of beach, with now and then 
a stiff clay, and, about midway, a large block of w T hite 
limestone rises from the waters of the lake. 

On the elevated south- east shore of the lake, in 
the London district, between 43.10 and 43.53 of 
north latitude, about 40 miles at its nearest point 
from the head of Lake Ontario, and 30 miles from 
the north border of Lake Erie, is situate the fine tract 
termed the Huron territory, and belonging to the 
Upper Canada Company. It is of a triangular 
shape, the base 60 miles in length, resting on Lake 



THE CANADAS. 



Huron, and comprising 1,100,000 acres. At the con- 
fluence of the River Maitland with the lake, forming 
an excellent harbour capable of sheltering vessels of 
200 tons burthen, the Company have laid out the 
neat and flourishing town of Goderich. The general 
surface of the Huron territory is level, frequently 
presenting rich natural meadows. The Rivers Mait- 
land, aux Sables, a large branch of the Thames, and 
other rivers and streams, water this fine district.* 

Georgiana Bay, a vast arm of Lake Huron on the 
north-east side, is studded with fine harbours. 

The principal British naval station, in Lake Hu- 
ron, is Penetanguishine (latitude 44.57, longitude 
79.35), in the south-east bight of Georgiana Bay, 
within Gloucester harbour ; it is sheltered by hills 
of sand and rolled blocks. 

The lake we are now treating of, may be considered 
the centre of the great chain of waters round it, as 
it has a direct communication with all. It commu- 
nicates with Superior by St. Mary's River; with 
Michigan (and through it with the Illinois River) by 
the Straits of Michilimackinac ; with Erie by the 
River and Lake of St. Clair , and with Ontario by 
the Severn River 5 Lake Simcoe, a chain of lakes, 
and the Trent River. It has also two known 
communications with the Ottawa, — one through 
Lake Simcoe, and a chain of lakes to the source of 

* A steam-vessel was built last year at Goderich, to ply be- 
tween that town and Sandwich, on the Detroit, a distance of 
150 miles. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



12! 



the Madawasca, which falls into the Lake of Chats • 
the other, up French River, through Lake Nipissing, 
and down a rapid river to the Ottawa, near Mataouin. 

The principal rivers emptying themselves into 
Lake Huron are, the Thessalon, Missassaga, French, 
Severn, St. Clair, Maitland, and Saguina. The two 
former, situate in the north-east corner of the lake, 
are small. French River, which connects Lake Hu- 
ron with Lake Nipissing, is 75 miles in length, and 
less resembles one stream than a confusion of rivers, 
flowing, with frequent inosculations, among length- 
ened ridges of rock : its shores seldom present con- 
tinuous lines, but are excavated with deep and nar- 
row bays, obscured by high walls, rock, and dwarf 
pines. Its breadth varies, sometimes extending more 
than one league, and occupied by islands of every 
possible shape. Dr. Bigsby says, that few American 
prospects exceed in singularity and grandeur those 
which are here afforded, by groups of long and lofty 
islets extending in giant rays from a centre in some 
dark bay, — the clear water reflecting their rugged 
outlines and wild foliage, amid the solemn stillness 
pervading these solitudes. 

Two cataracts occur in French River, — by one it 
leaves Lake Nipissing ; the other is twenty miles 
below, called the Recollet, where the black crags in 
the midst of the foaming waters, beset with dead 
and living pine, impart great beauty to the scene. 

There are also several rapids one, Brisson, com- 
memorates, by thirteen wooden crosses, an equal 
number of fatal accidents which occurred in crossing 



132 



THE C AX A DAS. 



the foaming torrent ; the average strength of which, 
along the whole course of the river, is about two 
miles per hour. 

The Saguina River, flowing through a fine and 
level country, is 180 yards broad for 94 miles, when 
it divides into three small and very circuitous bran- 
ches, one of which is called Flint River. The Sa- 
guina is 120 miles from Detroit, through the woods, 
and about 220 by water. The United States are 
selling the land in its neighbourhood. 

The Severn Paver, connecting Lakes Simcoe and 
Huron, is about 30 miles in length; and at its mouth, 
near Penetanguishine, it is one and a quarter mile 
broad : it has two falls, and undergoes a descent of 
80 feet from Lake Simcoe. 

The St. Clair, which (according to Dr. Bigsby *) 
is the only river of discharge for Lakes Superior, 
Michigan, and Huron, which cover a surface of thirty- 
eight and a half million of acres, and are fed by nume- 
rous large rivers, is 300 yards broad at its commence- 
ment, and flows for twenty- six miles, to its entrance 
into Lake St. Clair, through a luxuriant alluvial 
country, with a straight course, and a smooth and 
equable current of two miles an hour. At its head, 
there is a rapid, for three quarters of a mile, at five 
miles per hour j and it enters Lake St. Clair by a 
multitude of shallow changeable mouths, but navi- 
gable for schooners. 

Lake St. Clair — is scarcely more than an inter- 

* I differ from this able observer, and am of opinion that the 
Missouri and Mississippi receive some of the waters of Su- 
perior and Michigan. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



123 



mediate link between Huron lake and the noble 
basin of Erie, being connected with the latter by 
the Detroit River • it is of an irregular oval shape, 
about thirty miles in diameter, and generally shoal, 
but with a depth of water sufficient for steam-boats 
and schooners. The shores are low and level, and 
a group of flat islands, formed by the constant al- 
luvial accumulations carried from Lake Huron by the 
St. Clair River, contracts its surface to the northward. 
This lake receives two large rivers 5 1st, the Thames 
River, (formerly Riviere a la Tranche), which rises 
north of the township of Blandford, has a serpentine 
course of 150 miles nearly south-west, and discharges 
itself into Lake St. Clair. It is navigable for large 
vessels to Chatham (fifteen miles from its embou- 
chure), and for boats nearly to its source : the bar 
however at its entrance is some obstacle to navigation. 
The Thames winds through a level and highly fertile 
country, the banks presenting many fine plains and 
natural meadows. The soil is principally a sandy 
earth, intermixed with large quantities of loam, and 
sometimes marl, under which is a substratum of clay 5 
and the river fiats are exceedingly rich, from the allu- 
vial deposits left after the overflowing of the banks. 
The oak, maple, pine, beech, and walnut, growing 
in the vicinity, are of superior quality. 

London is situate on the banks of the main branch 
of the Thames, about ninety miles from its mouth, 
and in a tolerably central position with regard to the 
surrounding lakes. Chatham,, as already observed, 
is fifteen miles from its mouth. 

The Big Bear River, or " Creek," rises near the 



124 



THE CAXADAS. 



limits of the Huron tract, and after running a 
course of about one hundred miles generally parallel 
to the Thames (in one place approaching it within 
five miles), it falls into Lake St. Clair at the mouth 
of one of its north-east channels. 

The Detroit River, or rather strait, connects Lake 
St. Clair with Lake Erie, — flowing, after a westerly 
bend, nearly due S. from the former, broad and deep, 
for 29 miles 5 for the greater part of its course the 
channel is divided by long narrow islands : the 
largest (Gros Isle, eight miles long) is within the 
American boundary 5 the second (Turkey Island, 
five miles long) is within the British territory. Isle 
au Bois Blanc, one and a half mile long, belonging 
to Upper Canada, is of great importance from its 
situation, as it divides the channel between Gros Isle 
and the east bank of the river, leaving the deepest 
channel to the east, and commands the entrance of 
the Detroit, which is navigable for vessels of any 
size employed upon the lakes 5 it affords besides, at 
the British settlement of Amherstburgh, an excellent 
harbour. Sandwich, another delightful British town, 
is situate 14 miles from Amherstburgh. The country 
around is extremely picturesque the banks high and 
richly cultivated, the eye everywhere resting on fer- 
tile fields, well stocked gardens, and orchards, ex- 
tensive barns and neat farm-houses. The most im- 
portant American town, on the opposite bank, is 
Detroit, which is a strong military station. During 
winter the river is completely frozen over. 

We now arrive at that splendid sheet of water 
called — 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



125 



Lake Erie, which receives the Detroit river, 
about 30 miles from its north-west extremity. This 
magnificent lake, unlike Huron or Superior (which 
lie generally north and south), runs nearly east and 
west, between 41.20. and 42.50. north latitude, 
78.35. and 83.10. west longitude, being 280 miles 
long, and 63 miles and a half broad at its centre, 
658 miles in circumference, and covering an area of 
about 12,000 square miles. In extreme depth it 
varies from 40 to 45 fathoms, with a rocky bot- 
tom,"* the average being from 15 to 18 fathoms 
over its whole extent ; hence when the wind blows 
strong, the lake becomes exceedingly rough and bois- 
terous, and a very high and dangerous surf breaks 
upon the shore, which in many places resembles 
the sea beach, being strewed with dead fish and 
shells, and frequented by various species of aquatic 
birds. 

The surface of Erie is 334 feet above that of Lake 
Ontario, with which it is connected by the Welland 
Canal, and 565 feet above the tide water at Albanjr, 
with which it is connected by the great Erie Canal. 

The southern shore of the lake (which is exclu- 
sively within the territory of the United States, as 
the north is within the British), is generally low, 
from the American town of Buffalo at its eastern ex- 
tremity, to Detroit at its western, except near the 
portage of Chataughue, where, for a short distance, 
it is rocky and bold, and between Cleveland and the 

* Lake Superior and Huron have a stiff clayey bottom mixed 
with shells. 



126 



THE CAN AD AS. 



Reneshowa river, where the cliffs rise 20 yards per- 
pendicularly above the waters' level, and continue so 
to the River Huron. Erie, an American town of 
some extent, with a strong battery, dock-yard, &c. 
is to the south-eastward of the lake. About 20 
miles along the mouth of the lake, is a tract called 
the Sugar-loaf Country, from its being diversified 
with numerous conical hills, which average from 20 
to SO feet high composed of sand and clay, and ex- 
tending several miles. The beach at this part of the 
lake is covered with huge black rocks, against 
which the lake beats with incessant roar, and during 
spring and autumn thick mists often obscure the 
sky for days. 

The north shore of Lake Erie, entering on the 
British territory, is bolder and more elevated than the 
American shore, of an irregular form, by reason of 
several capes or points of land. The banks of the 
lake sometimes rise to the height of 100 feet per- 
pendicular, consisting of clay and sand, broken and 
excavated in a thousand different w T ays by the action 
of the lake 5 in some places, large bodies of clay pro- 
ject 20 or 30 feet beyond the main bank, and lofty 
trees, from the roots of w T hich the soil has been 
swept away, appear suspended by a few fibres. 
During tempests the waters suddenly rise, and beat 
with great violence against these sand cliffs, cover- 
ing the beach, and overwhelming boats, &c. The 
first cape is Point Pele, or South Foreland, on the 
north-west shore, near Lake St. Clair, the southern- 
most point of Canada, and indeed of the British do- 
minions in North America. The next prominence 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



127 



is Point aux Pins (Landguard) whence there is a 
short westerly route to Chatham, on the Thames. 
Further east is Long Point, or the North Foreland, 
a narrow peninsula, stretching eastward into the 
lake for about 20 miles, forming a bay on its north- 
east shore. The fine river Ouse, which rises near 
Lake Huron, in latitude 43. north, and passes by 
the waters of the Thames, falls into the Lake Erie, 
after a course of 100 miles, still further east, where 
the Welland Canal, (see canals) which joins Erie and 
Ontario commences. 

Compared with the other great lakes, Erie, as be- 
fore observed, is shallow, of rather dangerous navi- 
gation, on account of the great number of rocks 
which project for many miles together, from the 
north shore, with little shelter from storms. 

A constant current sets down Lake Erie, with the 
prevalence of N.W. and S.W. winds. The princi- 
pal harbours on the south shore are Buffalo and 
Dunkirk (New York) ; Erie (Pensylvania) ; San- 
dusky (Ohio) ; besides the harbour at Put-in-Bay 
Island. 

The promontories on the north (British) side af- 
ford several good harbours and anchorage, during the 
heavy gales which blow on this lake.* During the 

* The Kingston Herald notices a most, extraordinary occur 
rence on Lake Erie during a late storm. A channel was made 
by the violence of the tempest through Long Point, N. Fore- 
land, 300 yards wide, and from 11 to 15 feet deep. It had been 
in contemplation to cut a canal at this very spot, the expenses 
of which were estimated at £12,000. The York Courier confirms 
this extraordinary intelligence, stating that the storm made a 



12S 



THE CAXADAS. 



American war, the belligerents maintained each a 
large naval force on this lake : on the 13th Sep- 
tember a battle was fought between the English 
squadron, carrying 63 guns, and the American 
carrying 54 guns, aided, however, by a number of 
gunboats, which terminated in the capture of theEng- 
lish fleet. Several other hard fought contests took 
place on this lake, which I pass over as incompa- 
tible with the brevity necessary to this work, and 
proceed to notice the Niagara River, whose fron- 
tiers* on the American and Canada shores are, per- 
haps, the most populous, and best settled of any 
locations in either country 3 a circumstance which 
accounts for the larger number of vessels (nearly 
300), and steam-boats (about 30, besides a number 
of others connected with them, and running on De- 
troit river and Lake Michigan), which find a profit- 
able employment on Lake Erie. This Lake may be 
regarded as a central reservoir, from which open in 
all directions the most extensive channels of inland 

breach through the point near the main land, converted the pe- 
ninsula into an island, and actually made a canal 400 yards wide 
and eight or ten feet deep, almost at the very point where the 
proposed canal was to have been cut ; and rendered nothing else 
now necessary in order to secure a safe channel for vessels and a 
good harbour on both sides, than the construction of a pier on 
the west side to prevent the channel from being filled up with 
sand. This information had recently been communicated by 
John Harris, Esq. of Long Point, to Sir John Colborne, and 
sent down to the House of Assembly by His Excellency. 

* I omitted to state in the proper place, that the British 
side of Lake Erie is thickly settled throughout the fine coun- 
ties of Oxford and Middlesex. — See the section on Population. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



129 



navigation to be found in the world j enabling ves- 
sels of the lake to traverse the whole interior of the 
country, to visit the Atlantic at the north or in the 
south, and collect the products and luxuries of every 
clime.* Indeed, as expressed in the Buffalo Jour- 
nal, the map of the entire globe does not present 
another sheet of water so strikingly peculiar as 
Lake Erie, commanding, as it does, the navigable 
waters of North America. From the south a steam- 
boat has ascended the Alleghany to Warren, and a 
trifling improvement will enable steam-boats from 
New Orleans to approach within three miles of 
Portland harbour. 

From the north, the vessels of Ontario visit Erie, 

* I may here advert to that justly celebrated American 
work, the Erie canal, which commencing at the city of Albany, 
and terminating at Buffalo in the county of Erie, connects the 
waters of the Hudson river with those of Lake Erie. It is 363 
miles in length, has 83 locks, (each 90 feet long in the clear, 
and 15 wide,) of 689 feet rise and fall, and 18 aqueducts ; the 
longest at Rochester 804 feet across the Gennessee river ; the 
canal is 40 feet wide at the surface, 28 at the bottom, and 4 deep. 
It was commenced in 1817, and finished in 1825. Together 
with the Champlain canal, (which extends 64 miles, with 188 
feet of lockage country, connecting the Erie canal waters with 
those of Lake Champlain,) its cost was upwards of 11,000,000 
dollars, and the tolls thereon now produce an annual income 
of upwards of one million dollars. 

The Oswego canal, commencing at Syracuse in Onondaga, 
and terminating at Oswego, connects the Erie canal with the 
waters of Lake Ontario. It is 38 miles long, has 123 feet 
lockages, was completed in 1828, and cost 565,437 Spanish 
dollars. There are several -other canals all branching in dif- 
ferent directions, and connecting almost every lake and river ? 
no matter how distant. 

VOL. 1. K 



ISO 



THE CAN ADAS. 



through the Welland Canal and River/' and efforts 
are now in progress to make the St. Lawrence a 
ship channel from Ontario to Montreal, where ves- 
sels from England may pass from Quebec into Erie, 
through Ontario. The Ohio and Pennsylvania canals 
will open a communication, through the Ohio river, 
to the Mississippi,! and another channel between 
Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico, presents itself 
by the way of Lakes Huron and Michigan. No 
country offers, in fact, greater facilities for inland na- 
vigation 5 and as on the Grison Alps, where a person 
may drink, without changing place, of water which 
flows into the Mediterranean, the Rhine, and Ger- 
man Ocean, so it is not improbable that we may 
find a point of junction of the waters of the St. 
Lawrence, the Mississippi and Red River of Hud- 
son's Bay, and the River of the West, which are 
embosomed in the ocean at the extreme east, west, 
north, and south shores of the North American 
continent. 

The Niagara River, w T hich connects Erie and On- 
tario Lakes, commences at the north-east extremity 
of the former, and is the outlet not only of the wa- 
ters of Erie, but also of those vast basins of Huron, 

* Following its windings, this river is about 150 miles long, 
1,000 feet wide, and navigable for 30 miles. On one of its 
branches called the Speed, 100 miles from its mouth, lies the 
thriving town of Guelph. 

f Lake Erie is 560 feet above the tide waters of the Hudson, 
St. Clair 10 feet higher, Huron 19, and Superior 53, making 
the last 642 feet above the ocean level. The sources of the 
Mississippi, which runs 3,038 miles, are 1,330 feet above the 
level of the sea. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



131 



Michigan, Superior, and their thousand tributaries. 
The river is thirty-three miles and a half long in its 
bends (twenty-eight direct), and traverses a country 
unrivalled for its richness and fertility, on the Ame- 
rican, as well as on the British side. When first 
assuming the character of a river at Fort Erie, it is 
one mile wide, but soon contracts its bed, at Black 
Rock to half a mile, and becomes rapid 3 but again 
expanding to its original dimensions, it flows on with 
more gentleness, its general course being from south 
to north. A ferry at Black Rock, when the current 
is seven miles an hour, offers a sublime prospect of 
the mighty mass of waters rushing from the inland 
seas, to join their parent ocean. Beyond Black Rock, 
the river widens to embrace Grand Isle, twelve miles 
long, and two to seven miles broad, with Square Isle 
at its head, and Navy Isle* at its foot ; below this, 
the river resembles a bay, more than two miles in 
breadth, and then narrow down the rapids to the far 
famed Falls of Niagara, which are twenty miles from 
Lake Erie, the whole of which is navigable, except 
below Chippewa, where the indraught of the cataract 
begins to be felt. 

Niagara Falls. — This celebrated cataract has been 
so often described, as scarcely to admit of repetition - } 
a few words must, however, be devoted to the sub- 
ject. 

The River Niagara, previous to arriving at the 
ledge of limestone rocks (see geological section), 

* All the islands in the Niagara river have been ceded to the 
United States, (except Navy Island), by the decision of the 
commissioners, under the 6th article of the treaty of Ghent. 



132 



THE CANADAS. 



over which it is so tremendously precipitated, takes 
a sudden turn or bend to the north-north-east, its 
previous course being mostly due west, forming what 
is termed the "Horseshoe Fall," which bend accele- 
rates the velocity of the rapid. On the New York 
side of the river, a small islet, termed Goat Island, 
divides off a portion of the immense stream, and be- 
yond the island the cataracts on the British Ameri- 
can side may be said to commence. 

The Horseshoe Cataract, on the British side, is the 
largest 3 the curvatures of the fall have been geo- 
metrically computed at 700 yards, and its altitude, 
taken with a plumb line from the surface of the Ta- 
ble Rock, 149 feet $ the American fall, narrowed by 
Goat Island,* does not exceed 375 yards in curvili- 
near length, (the whole irregular semicircle is nearly 
three quarters of a mile), its perpendicular height 
being 162 feet, or 13 feet higher than the top of the 
Great Fall ; adding 57 feet for the fall, the rapids 
thus give only a total of 219 feet, which is less than 
many other falls ; f but their magnificence consists 

* An enterprising American has constructed a wooden bridge 
600 feet in length, from the main bank of the Niagara to Goat 
Island. The difficulty in constructing this bridge by piles driven 
in the river, may be estimated from the fact of the flood of 
waters rushing seven miles an hour over a bed of broken rocks. 

*t* The following estimate, by an American writer, shews the 
height of various falls in different parts of the globe :; — Falls of 
Niagara, width of river three-quarters of a mile ; fall of the 
rapid 57 feet, grand falls 164, total 221 feet— The Montmo- 
rency river, 9 miles below Quebec, 50 feet in breadth, fall 250 
feet. — Chaudiere, near the Montmorency, 100 feet. — Missis- 
sippi, above its junction with the Ohio, 700 feet wide, fails 40 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



133 



in the volume of water precipitated over them, which 
has been computed at 2,400 millions of tons per day, 
102 millions per hour ! A calculation made at 
Queenstown, below the falls, is as follows : — the river 
is here half a mile broad, it averages twenty-five feet 
deep, current three miles an hour ; in one hour it 
will discharge a column of water three miles long, 
half a mile wide, and twenty-five feet deep, contain- 
ing 1,111,440,000 cubic feet, being 18,524,000 cu- 
bic feet, or 1 1 3,510,000 gallons of water each minute. 

The island which divides, and perhaps adds to the 
sublimity of the falls, is 330 yards wide, and covered 
with vegetation ; the eastern or American bank of 
the river, and the islands thereon, are also low and 

feet. — Missaurie, 500 miles from its sources, descent in 18 miles 
360 feet ; the river is 1000 feet broad ; one cataract is 87 feet, 
another 47, and another 26 ; the other 200 feet are rapids ; 
360 feet. — Passaic, N. Jersey, stream 150 feet wide, falls into 
a chasm only 12 feet broad, 70 feet. — Mohawk, at Cahoes, near 
its junction with the Hudson, 60. — Tuccoa, Ga stream 20 feet 
wide, 187 feet. — Ache, in Bavaria; river falls, in 5 steps, 200 
feet. — Tequendama, S. America; the river Bogota, rises in the 
mountains 9000 feet above the level of the sea, and is precipi- 
tated through various gorges, chasms, and precipices, until it 
plunges into an immense chasm, 600 feet. — Nile, at Syene, 
40 feet.— Gothea, in Sweden, fall at Trolhatta 100 feet— Lat- 
tin, in Swedish Lapland, half a mile wide, falls 400 feet. — Ma- 
amelven, in Norway, as related by Mr. Esmark, falls in three 
places. — Schaffhaussen, 400 feet wide, falls 70 feet. — Oreo, 
from Rosa, in Italy, descends in one continued cascade 1200 
feet. — Staubbach, in Switzerland, a small stream, falls 1400 feet. 
— Terni, 45 miles north of Rome, the river Velino falls over 
marble rocks 300 feet. — At Tivoli, 18 miles north-east of Rome 
the Anio, a branch of the Tiber, falls 100 feet. 



134 



THE CAN ADAS. 



covered with vegetation, which, with its soft beauty, 
is in strong contrast to the awful scene beneath ; the 
west, or British bank, is more bold and lofty, con- 
sisting of a horizontal ridge of rocky table land along 
the margin of the rapids, and gradually increasing 
in elevation from ten to one hundred feet ; at the 
foot of this ridge, on a level with the summit of the 
Horseshoe Fall, is the Table Rock, so famous as the 
spot where a very near view of the cataract may be 
seen ; indeed it forms a section of the ledge over 
which part of the torrent is precipitated, its flat sur- 
face jutting out horizontally about fifty feet, and over- 
hanging the terrific gulf. 

At the foot of the cataract it is possible but peril- 
ous to penetrate thirty yards behind the gigantic- 
concave sheet of the headlong flood, where a cavern 
is formed about 150 feet in height, 50 in breadth, 
and 300 in length, fit only for the habitation of its 
present tenants — the eel and the water snake. This 
dangerous chasm * below the falls is considered the 
best place for estimating the height of Niagara— 
that vast volume of water which four great lakes,* 

* The perilous path lies along the slippery margin of storm- 
ing eddies, beneath impending rocks, and amidst the jarring 
elements ; thus requiring great self-possession in making the 
attempt, for one false step, or the least giddiness, may plunge 
the adventurer into the whirling and boiling vortex of the falls ; 
a danger the more imminent because the path leads over sharp, 
broken, and excessively slippery rocks, on which it is extremely 
difficult to retain a footing, owing to the perpetual mossy mois- 
ture they imbibe from the oozing crevices of the superincum- 
bent cliffs. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



135 



the least of which is 1,200 miles in compass, pour 
forth to the ocean, — and the irresistible force with 
which this mighty mass foams and boils when rush- 
ing from the precipice. Here also may best be wit- 
nessed the beautiful play of the prismatic colours, as 
they form with the clouds of rising spray, — and the 
snow-white billows as they are rolled out by the meet- 
ing of the waters. This is also the most advantage- 
ous situation for listening to the awful roar sent up 
from the deep abyss, when even the solid rocks have 
imparted to them an apparent trembling and quiver- 
ing motion. 

But from the Table rock above, is the most sublime 
and beautiful spectacle jf here may be viewed the 
first ripple that marks the increasing rapidity of the 

* The total area of the four lakes is 100,000 square miles ! 

f The spectator may here approach so near that, if he pos- 
sesses nerve enough, he may, by lying prostrate on the rock, 
and stretching forth his arm, move his hand in the dread tor- 
rent ; but it is a fearful experiment, owing to the bewildering 
noise and view of the cataract. Some persons have described 
the effect of such situations to be in many cases a desire to pre- 
cipitate oneself from the height. The statement is correct. I 
myself felt this sensation when crossing the mountain torrents 
in India, on the slender rope or vine bridges which the natives 
construct ; and on ascending to the narrow height of La 
Pouse, in the Isle of France, (a less hazardous experiment than 
Lieutenant Taylor and others lately performed,) with Lieute- 
nants Fetherston, Clarke, &c, I should most probably have 
precipitated myself from this vast height, but for the exertions 
of my brother officers. Subsequently again I felt this horrid 
inclination when I rode to the top of Table Mountain, at the 
Cape of Good Hope, and sitting on horseback, looked down 
from a height of 4,000 feet on the apparently mimic capital of 
Southern Africa. 



136 



THE C AX AD AS. 



Niagara, the eye of the spectator following it down- 
wards as its impetuosity increases, and its waves roll 
on their crested curls ; then again when they no 
longer roll but rush in a loud roar of broken wild 
confusion, and next unite in a sheet of transparent 
emerald green, plunging into the gulf and rising 
again in infinitely divided spray, floating gossamer 
like in mid air. How beautifully does Byron depict 
such a scene when adverting to the far lesser fall of 
Velino.* 

The roar of waters ! — from the headlong height 
Velino cleaves the wave-worn precipice ; 
The fall of waters ! rapid as the light, 
The flashing mass foams shaking the abyss ; 
The hell of waters ! where they howl and hiss, 
And boil in endless torture ; while the sweat 
Of their great agony, wrung out from this 
Their Phlegethon, curls round the rocks of jet 
That gird the gulf around, in pitiless horror set, 

And mounts in spray the skies, and thence again 
Returns in an unceasing shower, which round, 
With its unemptied cloud of gentle rain, 
Is an eternal April to the ground, 
Making it all one emerald : how profound 
The gulf ! and how the giant element 
From rock to rock leaps with delirious bound, 
Crushing the cliffs, which, downward worn and rent 
With his fierce footsteps, yield in chasms a fearful vent 

To the broad column which rolls on, and shows 
More like the fountain of an infant sea 
Torn from the womb of mountains by the throes 
Of a new world, than only thus to be 



* Childe Harold, canto iv. stanzas 69, 70, 71, and 72. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



137 



Parent of rivers, which flow gushingly, 
With many windings, through the vale : — Look back ! 
Lo ! where it comes like an eternity, 
As if to sweep down all things in its track, 
Charming the eye with dread, — a matchless cataract, 

Horribly beautiful ! but on the verge 
From side to side, beneath the glittering morn, 
An Iris sits,* amidst the infernal surge, 
Like Hope upon a death-bed, and, unworn 
Its steady dyes, while all around is torn 
By the distracted waters, bears serene 
Its brilliant hues with all their beams unshorn : 
Resembling, 'mid the torture of the scene, 
Love watching Madness with unalterable mien. 

The splendour of this extraordinary scene is en- 
hanced by the simple view of the wild duck, and other 
water fowl, swimming down the rapids to the brink 
of the precipice, then flying out and repeating the de- 
scent with apparent delight, — while above, the blue 
bird and the wren, in their annual visit to Niagara, take 
pleasure in flying within one or two feet of the brink, 
and sport over the frightful fall with evident happiness ; 
now verging on the crystal stream that flows over the 
precipice, then dipping a wing in the bright green 

* Colonel Bouchette (who wrote after Lord Byron) ob- 
serves that, according to the altitude of the sun, and the situa- 
tion of the spectator, a distinct and bright Iris is seen amidst 
the revolving columns of mist that soar from the foaming 
chasm and shroud the broad front of the gigantic flood ; 
both arches of the bow are seldom entirely elicited, but the in- 
terior segment is perfect, and its prismatic hues are extremely 
glowing and vivid ; the fragments of a plurality of rainbows 
are sometimes to be seen in various parts of the misty curtain. 



138 



THE CAN ADAS. 



wave, and then skimming swiftly along its surface : — 
who would not wish at such a moment for the wings 
of a bird r The sound of the falls is audible at va- 
rious distances according to the state of the air, and 
the wind ; it has been clearly discernible at Buffalo, 
eighteen miles distant, and some say the noise has 
been distinctly heard at Toronto, on the opposite 
shore of Lake Ontario, a distance of forty-six miles. 
It is difficult to convey an idea of the extraordinary 
roar of the Niagara, it being an alternation of open 
and muffled sounds, likened by some to the hoarse 
voice of ocean surges heavily lashing the shore, — 
by others to the plunging dash of huge spherical 
rocks hurled in quick and ceaseless succession from 
a precipice of great altitude into profound waters — 
and among many other similitudes, its roaring, rum- 
bling, thundering noise is thought to approximate 
most to the pealing artillery of two large squadrons 
at sea in thick weather, the auditor being about five 
miles distant, such as may have been heard on the 
heights of Aboukir, when the fleets of Nelson and 
Brueys sent the reverberating echo of their dread 
hostilities along the Nile. 

But it is time to proceed towards the Lake of a 
thousand isles 3* — a little below the falls, the Niagara 
resumes its wonted soft beauty, and the spectator 
crossing the ferry has, on looking upwards, a splen- 
did view of the semi- circle cataracts to the extent of 

* A city is projected to be built adjoining the Niagara cata- 
ract on the British side ; and the plan in shares is laid down 
for the purpose. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



139 



3000 feet, whence the vast floods of the great Ameri- 
can lakes burst with a stupendous force, as if the 
floodgates of heaven were opening to deluge the earth , 
while onward flows the calm Niagara to Ontario, 
a distance of 13 miles. On reaching Queenston,* 
seven miles from the falls (Upper Canada side) the 
face of the country suddenly alters, and rises into ab- 
rupt and elevated ridges, supposed to have been the 
banks of the river in former ages.f 

* It was here the gallant and much beloved General Brock 
was killed in the campaign of 1812, when nobly leading a few 
troops against a much superior force up the Queenston heights. 

t About four miles above Queenston, is a singular part of 
the Niagara river called the whirlpool, the mouth of which is 
more than 1,000 feet wide, and in length about 2,000. Mr. 
Howison, in his interesting sketches of Upper Canada, says, that 
the current of the river has formed a circular excavation in the 
high and perpendicular banks, resembling a bay. The current, 
which is extremely rapid, whenever it reaches the upper point 
of this bay, forsakes the direct channel, and sweeps wildly round 
the sides of it ; when, having made this extraordinary circuit, 
it regains its proper course, and rushes with perturbed velocity 
between two perpendicular precipices, which are not more than 
400 feet asunder. The surface of the whirlpool is in a state of 
continual agitation. The water boils, mantles up, and wreathes, 
in a manner that proves its fearful depth and the confinement 
it suffers ; the trees that come within the sphere of the current, 
are swept along with a quivering zig-zag motion which it is 
difficult to describe. This singular body of water must be 
several hundred feet deep, and has not hitherto been frozen 
over, although in spring the broken ice that descends from Lake 
Erie collects in such quantities upon its surface, and becomes 
so closely wedged together, that it resists the current, and re- 
mains till warm weather breaks it up. The whirlpool is one of 
the greatest natural curiosities in the Upper Province, and is 
the more interesting to the mind, as its formation cannot be 
rationally accounted for. 



140 



THE CAN AD AS. 



Fort George, or Niagara, or Newark, formerly the 
seat of Government, (distant from Toronto, round 
the head of Lake Ontario, about 40 miles) is situate 
upon a rising ground on the west bank of the River 
Niagara, within a mile of the angle formed by the 
river and the lake, protecting on our side the western 
boundary of the Niagara frontier j* it was the scene 
of a severe contest in 1813, in which the Americans, 
with a superior and well combined naval and land 
armament, were victorious. 

The Niagara River enters Lake Ontario in lati- 
tude north 43.15.30, longitude 79.00.40 ; the differ- 
ence of height between its efflux and afflux being 334 
feetf on a distance of thirty- six and a half miles. 

Lake Ontario — the last in chain, and the most 
easterly of the great inland American seas (which 
may well be considered the wonder and admiration of 
the world), lying east and west, and nearly half of 
which is in the state of New York, is situate between 
the parallels 43.10 and 44.11 north latitude, and the 
meridans of 76.25 and 79.56 west longitude ; inform 

* From Fort George along the Niagara river to Queenston, 
a distance of eight miles, there is a considerable elevation of the 
land on either side of the river, extending both E. and W. about 
fourteen miles. The land rises for ten miles further to Chip- 
pewa, but the river is only navigable for large vessels as far as 
Queenston, where it is about 200 yards broad ; from thence to 
the falls it seldom exceeds fifty or sixty yards in width. 

f Thus — difference of elevation between Lake Erie and the 
head of the rapids (distance 23 miles) 15 feet; thence to the 
foot of the rapids (half a mile) , 5 1 feet ; height of the great 
fall on the American side 162 feet from the base of the falls to 
Queenston (distance 13 miles), 104 feet; and from Queenston 
to Lake Ontario, 2 feet — total, 334 feet. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



141 



elliptical, and measuring 172 miles on a central line 
drawn from its south -west to its north-east extremity; 
in its greatest breadth 59 miles,* medial 40, and about 
4 67 miles in circumference ; the average depth is about 
500 feet, consequently considerably below the level 
of the Atlantic Ocean, its surface being only 2&1 
feet above the tide waters at Three Rivers, on the 
St. Lawrence, and at Albany, on the Hudson. Ac- 
cording to some examinations, the depth varies very 
much, there being seldom less than three or more 
than fifty fathoms, except in the middle, where there 
have been no soundings at a depth of 300 fathoms. 
The shores of Ontario are generally covered with 
gravel, consisting principally of small thin pieces of 
limestone, worn round and smooth by the motion of 
the water 5 this gravel is washed on the beach in long 
ridges, sometimes several miles in extent, and when 
consolidated with the clayey soil which generally 
abounds along the shore, it is not moveable under the 
feet, — hence it becomes an excellent material for the 
formation of roads. In some places, the beach of 
Ontario appears to be a horizontal stratum of lime- 
stone : but it consists of this gravel when level, hav- 
ing its interstices filled with the finer particles of the 
limestone washed off by friction, which thus connects 
the whole, occasionally enclosing muscle-shells and 
decayed substances. The water of Ontario, like that 

* The breadth, as will be observed by the map, varies, — from 
Toronto (York) to Niagara, it is 35 miles, from Presque Isle to 
Genesse River, 60 miles, — from Ernest town to Oswego, 55 
miles ; and from Kingston to Sacket's Harbour, round the head 
of Wolf or Grand Island, 36 miles. 



142 



THE CAXADAS. 



of the other lakes, and of the St. Lawrence River, 
is limpid and pure, except when mixed with parti- 
cles of earth from the shores, by the agitation of the 
winds, (those of the Ohio and Mississippi are turbid, 
like the Ganges and Orinoco) ; the water of Ontario 
is used for drink, and also for washing, though it is 
not so suitable for the solution of soap as rain water. 
For a few days in June, the water near the shores 
is annually covered with a yellowish scum, rendering 
it unfit for culinary or other purposes : the cause of 
this phenomenon is unknown. During the height 
of summer, the shore- water is too warm for pleasant 
drinking, unless kept some hours in a cool cellar. 
Gales of wind, on this lake, are frequent, and attended 
with an unpleasant 'sea.' Every seven years the 
waters of the lake rise to an unusual height, of which 
phenomenon no satisfactory account has as yet been 
given. The refractions which take place on Ontario, 
in calm weather, are exceedingly beautiful — islands 
and trees appear turned upside down — the white surf 
of the beach is translated aloft, and seems like the 
smoke of artillery blazing away from a fort — large 
fountains of water seem to swell upon the horizon, 
and at times the spectator appears in the midst of a 
splendid ewer, which pours water around to the depth 
of 20 feet. 

The physical aspect of the shores of Ontario ex- 
hibits great diversity, — towards the north-east they 
are low, with swampy marshes, — to the north and 
north-west, the banks assume a bold appearance, — 
which again subside to almost a plain on the southern 
or American shore ; but well relieved, in the back 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



143 



ground, by a ridge of hills, that, after forming the 
precipice for the Niagara Cataract, stretches away to 
the eastward. The country bordering the lake is 
well wooded, and through the numerous openings, 
the prospect is enlivened by nourishing settlements ; 
the view being extremely picturesque along the white 
cliffs of Toronto, heightened by the remarkable high 
land over Presqu'ile, called the Devil's nose, on the 
north. 

A ridge of high land runs from the Bay of Quinte, 
on the north-west of the lake, along the northern 
shores of Ontario to the westward, at a distance, in 
some places, of not more than nine miles (as at 
Hamilton), and dividing the numerous streams and 
head waters falling into that lake from those de- 
scending north into the River Trent, Rice Lake, 
Otanabee River, and the contiguous chain of lakes. 
At Toronto (York) this ridge recedes north-east 
from the lake to the distance of 24 miles, separating 
the waters of Holland River, and other streams fal- 
ling into Lake Huron and Simcoe, from those dis- 
charging themselves into the Ontario. The ridge 
thence bending round the heads of the Toronto 
River, and its tributary streams, dividing them from 
those of the Grand or Ouse River, pursues a south - 
eastwardly direction towards the head of the lake, 
merges in the Burlington Heights, and runs along 
the shores of Burlington Bay, and the south-west 
side of Lake Ontario (at a distance of from four to 
eight miles), to Queenston Heights ; the direction 
is still eastward until it stretches into the territory 
of the United States, to Lockport on Erie Canal 
{twelve miles from Lake Ontario), which it crosses 



144 



THE CAN ADAS. 



and with which it runs parallel, until it arrives at 
Rochester, on the Genesse banks, where it sub- 
sides thus, as it were, forming the shores of the 
original basin of the lake, as far as regards the 
greater part of its northern and southern boundary. 

Many tributaries! flow into Lake Ontario. — 
which receives, from the state of New York, the 
Rivers Niagara, Genesse, Oswego, and Black River, 
besides many smaller streams. Among its bays, on 
the same side, are, Chaumont, Sodees (Great and 
Little), Toronto, and Braddocks. 

The principal river on the North British shore is 
the Trent, which issuing out of Rice Lake, J after a 
very winding course of 100 miles, falls into the Bay 

* The ridge on the American side of Lake Ontario is called 
the Ridge Road, or Alluvial Way; it extends 87 miles from Ro- 
chester, on the Genesse, to Lewiston, on the Niagara, and is 
composed of common beach sand and gravel stones, worn 
smooth, intermixed with small shells; its general width is 
from four to eight rods, and it is raised in the middle with a 
handsome crowning arch, from six to ten feet. At the Rivers 
Genesse and Niagara its elevation is about 130 feet, which is 
the elevation above Lake Ontario, from which it is distant from 
six to ten miles ; there is a regular and gradual descent from 
the road to the lake. The only way of accounting for the 
ridge is by supposing Lake Ontario to have been 130 feet 
higher than it is at present ; if this be the fact, Ontario and 
Erie must have formed one lake, — but then, as the Americans 
observe, a similar ridge exists on the south side of Lake Erie 
for 120 miles. The natural "Ridge Road" of New York is the 
best in the state. 

f Almost every river has a sand bar across its entrance. 

X Rice Lake, in the district of Newcastle, about 15 miles 
from Lake Ontario, and lying nearly S.W. and N.E., is 25 miles 
long by 5 wide. Its name is derived from the wild rice grow- 
ing on its margin and surrounding marshes. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



145 



of Quinte, near the village of Sidney. The Otana- 
bee, which falls into the north shore of Rice Lake, 
may be considered a continuation of the Trent River, 
of which the Rice Lake is merely an expansion, as 
is so often the case in the American rivers. The 
Otanabee, like the Trent, is a broad and full river, 
— and, both are navigable for boats. From its source 
in Trout Lake, it communicates by a chain of lakes 
with Lake Simcoe,"* through which it is proposed 
to open a canal communication between Lakes 
Huron and Ontario. 

Several navigablef bays occur on both sides of the 

* Simcoe Lake — in Home district, between Lakes Huron and 
Ontario, with an area of 300 square miles, is the most exten- 
sive interior lake of Upper Canada ; the elevation of its sur- 
face (estimated by the height of the frequent falls and cascades 
by which its outlet is broken) is 100 feet above the level of 
Lake Huron, and, therefore, much higher than either Erie or 
Ontario. It is proposed to connect Simcoe with Huron and On- 
tario Lakes by canals ; which, however, would require frequent 
lockage, though the distance is comparatively small. The 
lands in the vicinity of Lake Simcoe are remarkably fine ; and 
from the depth of soil, and equality of the surface, peculiarly 
easy of cultivation. 

t The canoes which navigate the Canadian lakes have been 
thus described by Mr. Gould, in a paper with which he has 
favoured me : — 

" The canoes are among the most ingenious and most use- 
ful of the Indian manufactures ; and nothing that European 
ingenuity has devised, is so well adapted to the habits and the 
necessities of their mode of life ; they are made of the bark of 
the birch tree, — and of all the various contrivances for trans- 
porting burthens by water, these vessels are the most extraor- 
dinary. From the slightness of their construction, they would 
appear to be totally inadequate to contend against the rapids 



146 



THE CAXADAS. 



Lake, particularly on the British shore, where Quinte 
and Burlington bays stand conspicuous ; the com- 
modiousness of the latter (in the S.W. angle of the 
Lake) was impaired by a sand bank — but this dis- 
advantage is now remedied by a canal, which renders 
this safe and capacious bay highly valuable 5 the 
former is secure, but its navigation rather intricate, 
owing to the windings and indentations of the shore 
of Prince Edward Peninsula, by which it is fronted, 
together with many islands which are clustered at the 
end of the lake, dividing its extremity into several 
channels.* 

they are continually exposed to ; they are of various lengths, 
from 12 to 30 feet, (the latter used only by the Hudson Bay 
Company) their breadth from four to six feet, diminishing to a 
point at each end, without distinction. The exterior is the 
bark of the birch tree, scarcely the eighth part of an inch in 
thickness ; it is kept distended by thin hoops of white cedar, or 
other light elastic wood, and very thin shingles, as an inside 
lining, are placed between the hoops and the bark ; the gun- 
wale is a narrow lathe, to which the hoop and the bark are 
sewed with narrow strips of the roots of the white cedar tree ; 
and the joinings in the bark are rendered waterproof by a 
species of gum, said to be collected from the wild cherry tree, 
which soon becomes perfectly hard ; no iron work or nails are 
employed in their construction, and they are so light that the 
common sized ones are easily carried, for several miles, by a 
man of moderate strength ; they are worked by paddles over 
the sides, and the dexterity of the Indians, in working them, is 
surprising : they, of course, push them forward, and not 
backward, as in the operation of rowing. The largest de- 
scription will carry about five tons of merchandize, besides 
eight or ten men." 

* Stoney and Grenadier islands are at the east end of On- 
tario ; Wolfe, or Grand Island, is at the entrance of the St. 
Lawrence ; and the celebrated Thousand Islands are just below 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



147 



Of the harbours, the most considerable, on the Ame- 
rican side, is Sackets Harbour on the S.E. shore, 
which is an excellent haven, well fortified, with ex- 
tensive arsenals and excellent docks for the construc- 
tion of the largest sized ships of war."* On the 
English side, Toronto (until lately called York) and 
Kingston are the principal ; of these it will be neces- 
sary, before proceeding farther, to offer a brief de- 
scription 5 f the rather, as the former is the metro- 
politan city of Upper Canada. 

Toronto,! (Latitude 43.39 N. Longitude 79.36 
W.) the infant capital of Upper Canada, is delight- 
fully situate in the township of York, near the head 

Wolfe, or Grand Island, — which, by being placed at the com- 
mencement of the Cataraqui (Iroquois, or St. Lawrence) River, 
forms two channels leading into Kingston Harbour, bearing 
the names of the North, or Kingston Channel, and the South, 
or Carleton Island Channel. 

* One of the three-decker ships of war, built here by the 
Americans during the war, was 182 feet 8 inches keel, 212 feet 
on the lower gun deck, and 52 feet beam ; thus the largest 
vessel of war was constructed on a fresh water lake : 800 ship- 
wrights were employed 42 days in running up this immense 
vessel. At Ernest Town a steam-boat of 150 feet keel, and, 
of course, about 170 feet deck, was built some years ago. 

f Presque Isle or Newcastle Harbour, in the township of 
Grahame, is situate somewhat more than half way from To- 
ronto to Kingston ; it is well protected from winds, and al- 
most encircled by a peninsula, which projects in a curve into 
the lake, forming a basin of sufficient depth for shipping, 
and affording good landing. The harbour is somewhat difficult 
of entrance. From Newcastle, eastward, the shore of Ontario 
is indented with bays and points of various sizes. 

X York the former name, was recently changed to the 
original Indian name of the place, Toronto. 



148 



THE CAN AD AS. 



of Lake Ontario, on the north side of an excellent 
harbour or elliptical basin of an area of eight or 
nine miles, formed by a long, low sandy peninsula 
or island, stretching from the land east of the town 
to Gibraltar Point, abreast of a good fort.* The 
town is laid out at right angles, with long and 
spacious streets, (King Street, the great thorough- 
fare is half a mile long), the side paths well nagged, 
and some of the streets macadamised. It contains 
the principal buildings and public offices of the pro- 
vince, viz. : the Parliament House and Government 
offices, Government House, the College of Upper 
Canada, the Hospital, Court House, Gaol, Episcopa- 
lian, Presbyterian and Roman places of worship, and 
several Meeting Houses, the Upper Canada Bank, 
Law Society Hall, the Barracks, &c. The popula- 
tion is now about ll,000,f composed of English, 
Irish, Scotch, native Upper Canadians, and a very 
few French Canadians. Little more than thirty years 

* The formation of the peninsula is extraordinary, which in- 
deed would appear to have been a spot left dry at no distant date. 
In some places it is not more than 60 yards in breadth, but 
widening at the extremity to nearly a mile wide, and may be 
said to be a sand -bank slightly overgrown with grass, — the 
largest part intersected with extensive ponds, the constant re- 
sort of wild fowl. The east part of the harbour is bounded by 
an extensive marsh, through the north part of which the 
River Don runs. The soundings, in Toronto Harbour, are from 
two to four fathoms, mud and clay : it is secure in all storms, 
and a good light-house, 70 feet in elevation, at the western 
extremity of the beach, renders it a welcome haven to the 
midnight mariner. 

t Official return of the population of the City and Liber- 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



149 



ago, the site, whereon Toronto now stands, and 
the whole country to the north and west of it, was a 
perfect wilderness — the land is now fast clearing 
— thickly settled by a robust and industrious Euro- 
pean and European descended population, blessed 
with health and competence, and on all sides indicat- 
ing the rapid progress of civilization.* The other 
British town of importance on this shore is — 

Kingston, (distant from Toronto, 184 and from 
Montreal 180 miles) in Lat. 44.8. Long. 76.40. W. 
is advantageously situate on the north bank of Lake 
Ontario at the head of the river St. Lawrence, and 
is separated from Points Frederick and Henry, by a 



ties of Toronto, taken by the assessors in May and June, 
1834. 



Wards. 


Males 
under 16. 


Females 
under 16. 


Males 
over 16. 


Females 
over 16. 


Grand 
Total. 


St. David's . 


722 


680 


1033 


959 


3394 


St. Lawrence's 


412 


290 


666 


554 


1922 


St. Andrew's . 


343 


383 


532 


485 


1748 


St. Patrick's . 


328 


317 


426 


397 


1462 


St. George's . 


125 


123 


240 


228 


716 


Total . 


1935 


1793 


2897 


2623 


9248 



To these numbers may be added strangers, emigrants, omis- 
sions, casual residents, tenants of the prison, and the soldiers 
in garrison, in all upwards of 1800 persons, giving an actual 
population of 11,000 souls within the city and liberties. 

* Toronto, at that period York, was twice captured by the 
Americans, in April and x\ugust, 1813, owing to its defenceless 
state, — and a large ship of war, on the stocks, burnt. The 
Americans would not now find its capture such an easy task. 



150 



THE CAN ADAS. 



bay which extends a considerable distance to the 
N. W. beyond the town, where it receives the 
waters of a river flowing from the interior. Point 
Frederick is a long narrow peninsula, extending 
about half a mile into the lake in a S. E. direction, 
distant from Kingston about three quarters of a 
mile on the opposite side of its bay. This peninsula 
forms the west side of a narrow and deep inlet called 
Navy Bay, from its being our chief naval depot on 
Lake Ontario. The extremity of the point is sur- 
mounted by a strong battery, and there is a dock- 
yard with store-houses, &c. 

Point Henry, forming the east side of Navy Bay, 
is a high narrow rocky ridge, extending into the 
lake in the same direction as Point Frederick. It is 
crowned by a fort, built on the extremity of the 
ridge, and occupying the highest point of ground 
in this part of Canada. The dock-yard, storehouses, 
slips for building ships of war, naval barracks, 
wharfs, &c. are on an extensive scale ; during the 
war, a first rate (the St. Lawrence) carrying 102 
guns was built here, and in a case of emergency, a 
formidable fleet could in a very short time be 
equipped at Kingston in defence of British interests 
or honour. 

Kingston, next to Quebec and Halifax, the 
strongest British post in America, and next to Que- 
bec and Montreal, the first in commercial impor- 
tance, has rapidly risen of late years, by becoming, 
through the means of the Rideau Canal, the main 
entrepot between the trade of the lower Province 
and all the settlements on the great lakes to the 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



151 



westward ; and with the measures now in progress to 
render the St. Lawrence navigable between Mont- 
real and Lake Ontario,* it may be expected to in- 
crease yet more rapidly : in 1828 its population 
amounted to 3,528 — in 1834 to near 6,000. 

The appearance of the north-east extremity of 
Ontario, at its junction with the St. Lawrence river 
at Kingston, is exceedingly beautiful, and it has ob- 
tained the poetical appellation of the c Lake of the 
Thousand Isles.' As the St. Lawrence issues from 

* The number of steam-boats, on the Ontario Lake, is 
considerable; there are eight American, and twelve British 
steam-vessels employed on it in traffic and for passengers. 
During the winter the N.E. part of Ontario, frcm the Bay of 
Quints to Sackets Harbour, is frozen across ; but the wider 
part of the lake is frozen only to a short distance from 
the shore. Lake Erie is frozen still less ; the northern parts 
of Huron and Michigan more ; and Superior is said to be 
frozen to a distance of 70 miles from its coasts. The naviga- 
tion of Ontario closes in October; ice-boats are sometimes 
used when the ice is glare (smooth). One mentioned by 
Lt. De Roos, was 23 feet in length, resting on three skates of 
iron, one attached to each end of a strong crossbar, fixed 
under the fore part, — the remaining one to the stern, from the 
bottom of the rudder, — the mast and sail those of a common 
boat : when brought into play on the ice, she could sail (if it 
may be so termed), with fearful rapidity, nearly 23 miles an 
hour. One has been known to cross from Toronto to Fort 
George, or Niagara, a distance of 40 miles, in little more than 
three-quarters of an hour ; but, in addition to her speed before 
the wind, she is also capable of beating well up to windward, 
— requiring, however, an experienced hand to manage her, in 
consequence of the extreme sensibility of the rudder daring 
her quick motion. 



152 



THE CAN AD AS. 



Ontario, it is twelve miles wide, divided into two 
channels by Wolfe or Grand, or Long Island, which 
is seven miles broad, and the widest channel on the 
north side three miles and a half across. 

The second British township is Leeds, 32 miles 
below Kingston (at the mouth of the Gannano- 
qui river) which has an excellent harbour : the 
river continues narrowing down to Prescott, distant 
62 miles from Kingston, 243 from Toronto, and 
385 from Quebec. Prescott is well defined by its 
strong hold, Port Wellington, which commands the 
river's navigation. 

A few miles below Prescott the rapids of the St. 
Lawrence commence 3 and from thence to Montreal 
the river is navigable only for boats, rafts, &c. and 
even then with no inconsiderable danger : the most 
difficult to pass is the Long Sault, in front of Os- 
naburgh above Cornwall (46 miles from Mon- 
treal) 5 it is about nine miles long, and intersected 
by several islands, through whose channels the 
water rushes with great velocity, so that boats are 
carried through it, or on it, at the rate of 27 
miles an hour : at the foot of the Rapid, the water 
takes a sudden leap over a slight precipice, whence 
its name. 

The rapids at the Cedars at La Chine, on ap- 
proaching Montreal are not less dangerous, but the 
skill of the Canadian boatmen enables them in ge- 
neral to pass these formidable torrents with safety.* 

* The statements laid before Parliament thus enumerate and 
describe the five rapids of the St. Lawrence, which are impass- 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



153 



Having now given the reader a connected descrip- 
tion of the principal physical features of Upper 
Canada, I mean its great lakes and rivers,* I shall, 
before passing to another section, allude briefly to its 
canals, which have given rise to so much conversa- 
tion and debate in the Old World. 

TheRiDEAu Canal. — This far-famed undertaking, 
which is not, properly speaking, a canal, but rather 
a succession of raised waters by means of dams, 

able by steam, and occur between Montreal and Kingston, a dis- 
tance, by the St. Lawrence River, of 1 7 1 miles, and by theRideau 
Canal (via St. Ann's) 267 miles. The rapids vary in rapidity, in- 
tricacy, depth, and width of channel, — and in extent from half a 
mile to nine miles. The Cedar' Rapid, 24 miles from La Chine, is 
nine miles long, very intricate, running from nine to twelve 
miles an hour, and in some places only from nine to ten feet 
water in the channel. The Coteau du Lac Rapid six miles 
above the former, is two miles long, equally intricate in the 
channel, and in some places only sixteen feet wide. Long 
Sault, 45 miles above the preceding, is nine or ten miles long, 
with generally the same depth of water throughout. From 
thence to Prescott is 41 miles of shoal water running from 
six to eight miles an hour, and impassable by steam-boats. 
Then the Rapid Du Plas, half a mile long, and Rapid Galoose, 
one and half a mile long, intervene. It has been suggested, 
that a navigable channel should be made through these rapids, 
between Montreal and Prescott, so as to admit all those ships 
which now discharge their cargoes at Quebec and Montreal : 
the difficulties would be great, but they are not insurmount- 
able ; and the estimated cost is £1,500,000, which it is 
thought a private company would undertake, with the prospect 
of repayment from tolls. The Erie Canal cost about 9,000,000 
dollars, and it now yields an annual income of more than 
1,000,000 dollars. 

* I do not here allude to the Ottawa, which has been given 
under the description of the Lower Province. 



154 



THE CAN ADAS. 



with natural lakes intervening, commences at En- 
trance Bay, a small bay in the Ottawa, 128 miles 
from Montreal, and 150 from Kingston, in latitude 
north 45.30, longitude west 76.50, — about a mile 
below the Falls of Chaudiere, and one mile and 
a half above the point where the Rideau River 
falls into the Ottawa. From Entrance Bay the 
canal is entered by eight locks 5 it then passes 
through a natural gully, crosses Dow's Swamp — 
which is Hooded by means of a mound — crosses 
Peter's gully by means of an aqueduct, and joins 
the Rideau River at the Hog's Back, about six 
miles from Entrance Bay. At the Hog's back there 
is a dam 45 feet high, and 400 long, which, by 
throwing back the river, converts about seven miles 
of rapids into still, navigable water. The canal rises 
into the river by means of a lock. A series of locks 
and dams now commences, with occasional em- 
bankments. 

There are a dam and lock at the Black Rapids, 
138 miles from Montreal ; a dam, three locks, and 
two embankments, at Long Island Rapids, which 
render the river navigable for twenty-four miles, to 
Barret's Rapids, 167 miles from Montreal; eight 
dams and fourteen locks bring the canal to Olive' s 
Ferry, 210 miles from Montreal, where the Rideau 
Lake contracts to 463 feet wide, and a ferry con- 
nects the road between Perth and Brockville. At 
the Upper Narrows, 16 miles further, the Ri- 
deau Lake contracts again to about SO feet across, 
over which a dam is thrown, with a lock of four 
feet lift, forming the Upper Rideau Lake into 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



155 



a summit pond of 291 feet above Entrance Bay, in 
the Ottawa ; six miles further is the isthmus, which 
separates the Upper Rideau Lake from Mud Lake, 
the source of the River Cataraqui. The canal is 
cut through this isthmus, which is one mile and a 
half wide ; five miles lower down, is the Isthmus 
Clear Lake, 330 feet wide, through which a cut is 
made, to avoid the rapids of the natural channel. 

To Cranberry Marsh, 17 miles from Isthmus Clear 
Lake, 255 miles from Montreal, and 23 from Kings- 
ton, there are three dams and six locks. The 
Marsh is about 78 feet above the level of Kingston 
Harbour, and about eight miles long. Besides 
flowing into the Cataraqui River, the waters of 
this marsh or lake burst out at White Fish Fall, 
and flow into the Gananoqui River, which is the 
waste weir for regulating the level of the water in 
the Rideau Lake (the summit pond) ; thus the 
water in the whole line of canal, whether in times 
of flood or drought, is kept at a steady height. At 
Brewer's Upper and Lower Mills, 18 and 17 miles 
from Kingston, there are three dams and three 
locks ; and at Kingston Mills, five miles from 
Kingston, one dam and four locks. The Canal, or 
Cataraqui River, falls into Kingston Bay at these 
mills, at a distance from Montreal of 273 miles. 

The canal now described opens, it will be per- 
ceived, a water communication between Kingston 
and the Ottawa, a distance of 132 miles, by connect- 
ing together several pieces of water lying in that 
direction, viz., Kingston Mill-stream, Cranberry 



156 



THE CANAI5AS. 



Lake, Mud Lake, Rideau Lake and River, the 
length of the cuts not exceeding 20 miles. The 
difference of level is 445 feet ; about 20 miles 
are excavated, some through rocks. There are 
47 locks, which are in length 142 feet, in breadth 
33, and with a water depth of five feet, which admit 
vessels under 125 tons. There was either sad blun- 
dering in the estimate, or gross mismanagement in 
the expenditure on this canal, the original estimate 
for which was but £ 169,000, — the next estimate, 
before the plan of enlarging the locks was adopted,* 
amounted to £4S6,O0O, the addition of the locks 
raised the estimate to £762,673 ; but it may now 
be stated, that the total expenditure will not be short 
of one million sterling. 

The canal is certainly a noble piece of work, 
though completed at a heavy cost, which I fear there 
is little probability of its repaying, unless in the event 
of a war with the United States 3 a contingency which 
suggested the propriety of cutting, or rather making, 
the Rideau, in order that the water communication 
between Upper and Lower Canada might be beyond 
the controul of the Americans, who possess half the 
River St. Lawrence, down to the parallel of 45., as 
well as half of the Great Lakes, and by the posses- 
sion of Barnhart's Island, in the St. Lawrence, com- 

* The locks were originally planned upon a scale to corres- 
pond with those on La Chine Canal, i. e. 100 feet by 20 ; these 
dimensions were subsequently increased to 142 feet in length 
by 33 in width, with a depth of five feet water ; hence a con- 
siderable augmentation of expense. 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



157 



pletely command the navigation of the river between 
the two provinces.* Should the project now on foot 
of improving; the navigation over the rapids between 
Montreal and Kingston, before adverted to, be car- 
ried into full effect, the tolls on the Bideau Canal 
will be diminished. 

Some good, however, has resulted, both in a poli- 
tical and social point of view, from opening the 
Rideau: — 1st. the Americans can no longer hold out 
to us the threat of intercepting our water communi- 
cation between Upper and Lower Canada; and what- 
ever adds to the independence of a nation, is of the 
utmost importance :f — 2ndly, when the Rideau 
Canal was commenced, in 1816, there was a popu- 
lation of 1,900 in the country 5 now the canal drains 
3000 square miles, — and the settlements, in the vi- 
cinity of the canal, have a population of upwards of 
20,000. 

The Welland Canal, connects Lake Erie with 
Lake Ontario. It was not undertaken by govern- 
ment, but by a company incorporated by the Legisla- 
ture in 1825. The canal communicates with Lake 
Ontario by the Twelve-mile Creek, and is conducted 
over the range of hills forming the barrier of Lake 
Erie, at the Falls of Niagara, by means of locks, 
until it meets the Chippawa at eight miles and a half 
from its mouth ; it ascends the Chippawa about 
eleven miles, joins the Ouse upon Lake Erie at 

* The tolls on the Rideau and Ottawa belong to Government, 
t The Americans have set up a claim to the free navigation 
of the St. Lawrence, from the lakes to the ocean. 



158 



THE CANADAS. 



about one mile and a half from its mouth : the 
shifting bar at the entrance of the Ouse being re- 
medied by extending piers into deep water beyond 
the bar. The length of the canal is 41 miles, its 
width 56 feet, and its depth 8~ : the summit level 
is 330 feet, the ascending locks are 37 in number, 
(made of wood) 22 feet wide, and 100 feet long. The 
cost of this canal has been, so far as we can yet esti- 
mate, upwards of ,£500,000 ; but I should think on 
Lake Erie and Huron shores, there is little doubt 
that as the population encreases a fair return will 
be yielded for the capital expended. 

The Grenville Canal consists of three sections, 
one at the Long Sault on the Ottawa — another at 
the fall called the Chute a Blondeau, 60 miles from 
Montreal and 218 from Kingston — and a third at the 
Carillon Rapids, 56 miles from Montreal and 222 
from Kingston, opening into the Lake of the Two 
Mountains, through which an uninterrupted naviga- 
tion is maintained by steam boats to La Chine, nine 
miles above the City of Montreal. This canal ren- 
ders the navigation of the Ottawa, between the Ri- 
deau and Montreal, complete. All the locks on the 
Carillon, and on the Chute a Blondeau are of the 
same size as on the Rideau 3 but on a part of the 
Grenville Canal, which was commenced before the 
large scale was adopted, some locks, and a part of 
the cuttings will only admit boats twenty feet wide 5 
the locks on La Chine also are calculated for boats 
only twenty feet wide j the navigation for boats 
above twenty feet wide is interrupted at the Gren- 
ville Canal, and if large boats be used on the Rideau, 



PHYSICAL ASPECT. 



159 



and on the higher part cf the Ottawa, all goods must 
be unshipped on arriving at the Grenville Canal, and 
be either conveyed by portage, or removed to smaller 
boats. 

The distance from Kingston, on Lake Ontario, 
to By Town, where the Bideau River joins the Ofc*- 
tawa, is about 150 miles 5 from By Town to the 
Grenville Canal, 64 miles — total 214 miles, through 
the whole of which line, the locks and cuttings 
are of a size to admit steam boats 134 feet long 
and 33 feet wide, and drawing five feet of water. 

The Montreal communication with the Ottawa, 
by the canal between the former place and Lake St. 
Louis, at La Chine, near Montreal,* is termed 

La Chine Canal $ — it is 28 feet wide at the 
bottom, 48 at the water line, has five feet depth 
of water, and a towing path 5 the whole fall is 42 
feet, with the locks : the length is about seven 
miles. It is the property of a company 3 was be- 
gun in 1821, completed in three years, at a cost 
of ^6137^000, which was defrayed by the company, 
slightly assisted by government, in return for which 
aid the public service is exempt from toll. (See 
Commerce. ) 

By means of the great and useful works just 
mentioned, a large extent of country is opened up 
to the industry of the British settlers : there is con- 
tinuous steam-boat communication in Upper Canada 
for about 460 miles, viz. from the Grenville Canal 

* St. Anne's. — A canal is proposed across the west extremity 
of the Island of Montreal, near the town of St. Anne's, to 
surmount the rapids. 



160 



THE CANADAS. 



on the Ottawa, to Niagara * Many other canals 
are now in contemplation, such as that projected 
between the Bay of Quinte and Lake Huron, through 
Lake Simcoe, which will render us quite independent 
of the Americans on the Detroit River. The Thames 
is. also to be made navigable for steam-boats, from 
Chatham up to the Port of London : and if rail- 
roads do not take the place of canals, I have no 
doubt the greater part of Upper Canada will, in a 
few years, be intersected by them. I recommend 
the latter to the Canadians in preference to rail- 
roads, as by their means the country will be drained, 
and thus rendered more fertile, and more healthy. 

* The value of canals and steam navigation may be judged 
of from the fact, that, in 1812, the news of the declaration of 
war against Great Britain, by the United States, did not reach 
the post of Michilimackinac (1107 miles from Quebec) in a 
shorter time than two months ; the same place is now within 
the distance of ten days' journey from the Atlantic. 



GEOLOGY. 



161 



CHAPTER III. 

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE C ANA DAS, SOIL, CLIMATE, 
&C. 

In giving the geological features of our colonies, 
I beg to be understood as doing no more than register- 
ing such facts and observations as have yet been 
proved or made, in order that general views may be 
substantiated or refuted by a more extended know- 
ledge of the surface of our globe. I would further beg 
to direct the attention of my readers to the circum- 
stance, that the geology of a country not only indi- 
cates the fertility of the soil, but also materially in- 
fluences the climate in regard to the health of our 
species. 

Following the arrangement adopted in the pre- 
ceding chapter, I begin with the geology, mineralogy, * 
and soil, of Lower Canada. 

There are in America as manifest traces of an 
universal deluge as on the lofty Himalaya chain : 
boulder- stones are common all over the country in 
vast quantities 3 sometimes they are found rounded, 
and piled in heaps to an immense height, on exten- 
sive horizontal beds of limestone, as if swept there 
by the action of water ; shells of various kinds are 
met with, in particular fresh-water clams, cockles, and 
periwinkles especially are in abundance masses of 
the latter have been found several hundred feet above 

vol. 1. m 



162 



TH K CAN AD AS. 



the level of Lake Ontario. In the vicinity of large 
rivers, and in many instances remote from them, 
undulations of rocks are seen, exactly similar to what 
are found in the beds of rapids were the channels 
are waved.* On the shores of the Gulph of St. 
Lawrence, detached boulder stones, different from 
those found inland, of an enormous size (20 tons 
weight) are met with 3 they are very hard, of a 
blackish grey colour, without veins, but with pointed 
particles of a brilliant nature : how they came there 
it is difficult to say, the rocks of the gulf shore 
being of a slaty limestone. 

The fossil organic remains are numerous, and con- 
sist of productae, terebratulse, orthoceratites, trilo- 
bites, and enerinites, — these are found in the surface 
or upper strata, but rarely below. These records of a 
former animal existence distinct from any known in 
the present day, are intimately blended with the 
limestone in which they are entombed. f 

That the whole country has been subjected to 
some violent convulsion, subsequent to the Deluge, 
would appear from the singular contortions of the 
rivers, and the immense chasms found in mountains, 
from the indications of volcanic eruptions at St. 
Paul's Bay and north of Quebec, as also from the 
vast masses of alluvial rocks met with on the sur- 
face of the earth, having the appearance of vitrifac- 
tion. I think however it may be fairly assumed 
that the American Continent is of more recent for- 

* The wavy rocks are termed provincially ice shoves. 

t Lieut. Baddeley, Royal Engineers, remarks this in reference 
to Upper Canada, but it is equally applicable to the Lower Pro- 
vince. 



GEOLOGY. 



163 



mation than that of Europe or Asia, or that it was 
covered for unknown ages by the waters of the great 
deep. 

So far as we know, the geological structure of 
Canada exhibits a granite country, accompanied 
with calcareous rocks of a soft texture, and in hori- 
zontal strata. The prevailing rocks in the Alleghany 
mountains are granite in vast strata, but sometimes 
in boulders between the mountains and the shore ; 
greywacke and clay slate also occur with limestone 
occasionally 5 various other rocks, usually detached, 
present themselves. The lower islands of the St. 
Lawrence are mere inequalities of the vast granite 
strata which occasionally emerge above the level of 
the river ; the Kamouraska islands, and the Pen- 
guins in particular, exhibit this appearance 5 and in 
Kamouraska and St. Anne's parishes, large masses 
of primitive granite rise in sharp conical hills (one 
is 500 feet high) in some places with smooth sides 
and scarcely a fissure, in others full of fissures and 
clothed with pine trees which have taken root in 
these — the whole country appearing as if the St. 
Lawrence had at a former period entirely covered 
the land. At St. Roche, the post road leads for more 
than a mile under a perpendicular ridge of granite 
300 feet high. The banks of the St. Lawrence are 
in many places composed of a schistus substance in 
a decaying or mouldering condition, but still in 
every quarter, granite is found in strata more or less 
inclined to the horizon, but never parallel to it. In 
the Gaspe district there have been obtained nume- 
rous and beautiful specimens of the quartz family, 



164 



THE CANADAS. 



including a great variety of cornelians, agates, opals, 
and jaspers : coal indications have also been traced. 

The whole north shore of the St. Lawrence from 
Quebec to its mouth, and round the coast of Labra- 
dor, offers a rich field for the mineralogist ; much of 
the coast bordering on the gulph being primitive, or 
of the earlier formations. According to some ob- 
servers, the north coast below the St. Lawrence ex- 
hibits trap rocks, clay slate, various detached rocks, 
and granite occasionally j the latter being supposed 
to prevail in the interior of the country, forming the 
base of the Labrador mountains and the coast of 
Quebec. Cape Tourment (30 miles from Quebec) 
is a round massive granite mountain about 1000 
feet high, being a ramification of the rugged inte- 
rior chain of highlands. The immediate bed of the 
fall of Montmorenci is a horizontal shelf of dark 
grey limestone, of the kind called primitive or crys- 
tallized. Except in the bogs or marshes, rocks 
obtrude on the surface in all quarters, and in many 
parts there exist deep fissures from six inches to 
two feet wide, as if they had been split by the action 
of fire, or some volcanic shock. The Indians say 
some of these rents extend several miles in length, 
about a foot broad, and from forty to fifty feet deep : 
they are not unfrequently hidden from view by va- 
rious creeping shrubs, and form dangerous pitfalls. 

This would seem to confirm the following account 
of a terrific earthquake, which appears in a manu- 
script in the Jesuits College at Quebec : — f On the 
5th of February, 1663, about half- past five o'clock 
in the evening, a great rushing noise was heard 



GEOLOGY. 



165 



throughout the whole extent of Canada. This noise 
caused the people to run out of their houses into the 
streets, as if their habitations had been on fire 5 but 
instead of flames or smoke, they were surprised to 
see the walls reeling backwards and forwards, and 
the stones moving, as if they were detached from 
each other. The bells sounded by the repeated 
shocks. The roofs of the buildings bent down, first 
on one side and then on the other. The timbers, 
rafters, and planks, cracked. The earth trembled 
violently, and caused the stakes of the palisades and 
palings to dance, in a manner that would have been 
incredible had we not actually seen it in many places. 
It was at this moment every one ran out of doors. 
Then were to be seen animals flying in every direc- 
tion ; children crying and screaming in the streets ; 
men and women, seized with affright, stood horror- 
struck with the dreadful scene before them, unable 
to move, and ignorant w 7 here to fly for refuge from 
the tottering walls and trembling earth, which threat 
ened every instant to crush them to death, or sink 
them into a profound and immeasurable abyss. Some 
threw themselves on their knees in the snow, crossing 
their breasts and calling on their saints to relieve 
them from the dangers with which they were sur- 
rounded. Others passed the rest of this dreadful 
night in prayer 5 for the earthquake ceased not, but 
continued at short intervals, with a certain undulating 
impulse, resembling the waves of the ocean 5 and the 
same qualmish sensations, or sickness at the stomach 
was felt during the shocks as is experienced in a ves- 
sel at sea. 



166 



THE C ANA DAS. 



'The violence of the earthquake was greatest in 
the forests, where it appeared as if there was a battle 
raging between the trees ; for not only their branches 
were destroyed, but even their trunks are said to 
have been detached from their places, and dashed 
against each other with inconceivable violence and 
confusion— so much so, that the Indians, in their 
figurative manner of speaking, declared that all the 
forests were drunk. The war also seemed to be 
carried on between the mountains, some of which 
were torn from their beds and thrown upon others, 
leaving immense chasms in the places from whence 
they had issued, and the very trees with which they 
were covered sunk down, leaving only their tops 
above the surface of the earth; others were com- 
pletely overturned, their branches buried in the earth, 
and the roots only remained above ground. During 
this general wreck of nature, the ice, upwards of six 
feet thick, was rent and thrown up in large pieces, 
and from the openings, in many parts, there issued 
thick clouds of smoke, or fountains of dirt and sand, 
which spouted up to a very considerable height. 
The springs were either choaked up, or impregnated 
with sulphur — many rivers were totally lost 5 others 
were diverted from their course, and their waters 
entirely corrupted. Some of them became yellow, 
others red, and the great river of St. Lawrence ap- 
peared entirely white, as far down as Tadoussac. 
This extraordinary phenomenon must astonish those 
who know the size of the river, and the immense 
body of water in various parts, which must have re- 
quired such an abundance of matter to whiten it. 



GEOLOGY. 



167 



They write from Montreal that during the earth- 
quake, they plainly saw the stakes of the picketing 
or palisades jump up as if they had been dancing 3 
and that of two doors in the same room, one opened 
and the other shut of their own accord 3 that the 
chimneys and tops of the houses bent like branches 
of trees agitated with the wind 3 that when they 
went to walk they felt the earth following them, 
and rising at every step they took, sometimes stick- 
ing against the soles of their feet and other things 
in a very forcible and surprising manner. 

( From Three Rivers they write, that the first shock 
was the most violent, and commenced with a noise 
resembling thunder. The houses were agitated in 
the same manner as the tops of trees during a tem- 
pest, with a noise as if fire was crackling in the gar- 
rets. The shock lasted half an hour or rather better, 
though its greatest force was properly not more 
than a quarter of an hour 3 and we believe there was 
not a single shock which did not cause the earth to 
open either more or less. 

c As for the rest, we have remarked, that though 
this earthquake continued almost without intermis- 
sion, yet it was not always of an equal violence. Some 
times it was like the pitching of a large vessel which 
dragged heavily at her anchors 3 and it was this mo- 
tion which occasioned many to have a giddiness in 
their heads, and qualmishness at their stomachs. 
At other times the motion was hurried and irregular, 
creating sudden jerks, some of which were ex- 
tremely violent 3 but the most common was a slight 
tremulous motion, which occurred frequently with 



168 



THE CANADAS. 



little noise. Many of the French inhabitants and 
Indians , who were eye witnesses to the scene, state, 
that a great way up the river of Trois Rivieres, 
about eighteen miles below Quebec, the hills which 
bordered the river on either side, and which were of 
a prodigious height, were torn from their founda- 
tions, and plunged into the river, causing it to change 
its course, and spread itself over a large tract of 
land recently cleared ; the broken earth mixed with 
the waters, and for several months changed the co- 
lour of the great river St. Lawrence, into which that 
of Trois Rivieres disembogues itself. In the course 
of this violent convulsion of nature, lakes appeared 
where none ever existed before : mountains were 
overthrown, swallowed up by the gaping,, or preci- 
pitated into adjacent rivers, leaving in their places 
frightful chasms or level plains ; falls and rapids 
were changed into gentle streams, and gentle streams 
into falls and rapids. Rivers in many parts of the 
country sought other beds, or totally disappeared. 
The earth and the mountains were entirely split and 
rent in innumerable places, creating chasms and pre- 
cipices whose depths have never yet been ascertained. 
Such devastation was also occasioned in the woods, 
that more than a thousand acres in our neighbour- 
hood were completely overturned ; and where but a 
short time before nothing met the eye but one im- 
mense forest of trees, now were to be seen extensive 
cleared lands, apparently cut up by the plough. 

' At Tadoussac (about 1 50 miles below Quebec on 
the north side) the effect of the earthquake was not 
less violent than in other places ; and such a heavy 



GEOLOGY. 



169 



shower of volcanic ashes fell in that neighbourhood, 
particularly in the river St. Lawrence, that the waters 
w r ere as violently agitated as during- a tempest. (The 
Indians say that a vast volcano exists in Labrador.) 
Near St. Paul's Bay, (about 50 miles below Quebec 
on the north side) a mountain, about a quarter of a 
league in circumference, situated on the shore of the 
St. Lawrence, was precipitated into the river, but as 
if it had only made a plunge, it rose from the bot- 
tom, and became a small island, forming with the 
shore a convenient harbour, well sheltered from all 
winds. Lower down the river, towards Point Alout- 
tes, an entire forest of considerable extent was 
loosened from the main bank, and slid into the river 
St. Lawrence, where the trees took fresh root. 
There are three circumstances, however, which have 
rendered this extraordinary earthquake particularly 
remarkable : the first is its duration, it having con- 
tinued from February to August, that is to say, 
more than six months almost without intermission ! 
It is true, the shocks w r ere not always equally vio- 
lent. In several places, as towards the mountains be- 
hind Quebec, the thundering noise and trembling 
motion continued successively for a considerable 
time. In others, as towards Tadoussac, the shock 
continued generally for two or three days at a time 
with much violence. 

' The second circumstance relates to the extent of 
this earthquake, which we believe was universal 
throughout the whole of New France, for we learn 
that it was felt from I' Isle Persee and Gaspe, which 
are situated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence to 
beyond Montreal, as also in New England, Acadia, 



170 



THE C AX ADAS. 



and other places more remote. As far as it has 
come to our knowledge, this earthquake extended 
more than 600 miles in length, and about 300 in 
breadth. Hence 180,000 square miles of land were 
convulsed in the same day, and at the same moment, 
( The third circumstance, which appears the most 
remarkable of all, regards the extraordinary protec- 
tion of Divine Providence, which has been extended 
to us and our habitations $ for we have seen near us 
the large openings and chasms which the earth- 
quake occasioned, and the prodigious extent of 
country which has been either totally lost or hide 
ously convulsed, without our losing either man, wo 
man, or child, or even having a hair of their heads 
touched.' 

As Quebec is approached, a reddish or dark clay 
slate appears as the prevailing rock, and this forms 
the bed of the St. Lawrence, to Kingston and Nia- 
gara : boulders of granite, limestone, sandstone, 
sienite trap, and marble occur as detached rocks in 
the same extensive region. Montreal mountain is of 
the trap family, accompanied by limestone. 

The ridge of rocky country running N.E. and 
S.W. through the Newcastle and Midland districts 
towards Ottawa, at a distance of from 50 to 100 
miles from the north shore of Lake Ontario, and the 
course of the St. Lawrence, is rich in silver, lead, 
copper and iron. The rocks composing the hills 
on the north shore of the Saguenay river are in 
some places so strongly impregnated with iron, as 
to render the compass extremely deceptive from 
its frequent variations. 

Among the mountains to the N. W. of the St. 



GEOLOGY. 



171 



Lawrence, have been obtained iron felspar, horn- 
blende, native iron ore, granite, (white, grey and 
red) and a kind of stone very common in Canada, 
called Limestone Granite, it being limestone that cal- 
cines to powder, yet by fracture apparently granite : 
marble is in abundance and plumbago of the finest 
quality. The iron mines of St. Maurice have long 
been celebrated, and the metal prepared with wood 
is considered equal if not superior to Swedish. There 
is no doubt that Canada is rich in copper, lead, tin 
and other mineral productions. 

The beautiful spar, peculiar to Labrador, whence 
it derives its name, has long been celebrated ; some 
specimens are of an ultra marine, or brilliant sky-blue 
colour — others of a greenish yellow — of a red — and 
of a fine pearly grey tint. Marble of excellent qua- 
lity and of different hues, white, green and varie- 
gated, is found in several parts of the country ; and 
limestone, so useful to the agriculturist, almost 
everywhere abounds. 

The quantity of good soil in Canada, compared 
with the extent of country, is equal to that of any 
part of the globe ; and there yet remains location 
for many millions of the human race. The best 
lands are those on which the hardest timber is found 
— such as oak, maple, beech, elm, black- walnut, &c. 
though bass-wood when of luxuriant growth, and 
pine when large, clean and tall, also indicate good 
land. Many of the cedar swamps, where the cedars 
are not stunted, and mingled with ash of a large 
growth, contain a very rich soil, and are calculated to 
form the finest hemp grounds in the world. So great 



172 



THE CAXADAS. 



is the fertility of the soil in Canada,, that fifty bushels 
of wheat per acre are frequently produced on a farm, 
where the stumps of trees, which probably occupy 
an eighth of the surface, have not been eradicated 
— some instances of sixty bushels per acre occur, 
and near York in Upper Canada, 100 bushels of wheat 
were obtained from a single acre ! In some districts, 
wheat has been raised successively on the same 
ground for 20 years without manure. 

The soil on the promontory where Quebec stands, 
is light and sandy in some parts, in others it is a 
mixture of loam and clay y — beneath the soil a black, 
silicious slaty rock is everywhere met with, resting 
generally on a bed of granite. Above Richelieu 
Rapids, where the mountains commence retreating 
to the south and north, the greater part of the soil 
of the low lands is apparently of alluvial formation, 
consisting of a light and loose blackish earth, ten or 
twelve inches in depth, lying on a stratum of cold 
clay. 

The soil of Montreal island is generally alluvial, 
consisting in many places of light sand and loam, 
% and in others, of a stiff clay, on a horizontal stratum 
of limestone with animal remains : the substratum 
granite being intersected by black slaty rock, similar 
to that of Quebec. 

Along the Ottawa there is a great extent of allu- 
vial soil, and many districts of fertile land are daily 
brought into view, which were before unknown. 

Upper Canada. — Our knowledge of the geological 
structure of the country bordering on the great lakes, 
is more minute than has been detailed under Lower 



GEOLOGY. 



173 



Canada. Beyond Lake Superior — or as La Hontan 
called it — " the fag end of the world/' we know 
little or nothing ; the country is exceedingly dreary 
— miles of ponds and marshes, where the mud is 
knee-deep, are succeeded by open, dry sandy deserts, 
terminating in forests of hemlock and spruce, and 
then again a regular alternation of swamps, mud, 
hog, windfalls, and stagnant water ; and in the course 
of many miles, there is seldom a dry spot to be found 
for a resting place : in winter strong whiskey is 
frozen to the consistence of honey, and in the height 
of summer-, the mercury is down to 36° F. at sun- 
rise. To begin therefore with — 

Lake Superior. — The whole south coast of this 
vast inland sea is stated by Mr. Schooleraft, an Ame- 
rican gentleman, who formed part of a Government 
Expedition from New York, to be a secondary 
sandstone, through which the granite on which it 
rests, occasionally appears ; chalcedony, cornelian, 
jaspar, opal, agate, sardonyx, zeolith, and serpentine 
(all silicious except the last two), with iron, lead 
and copper are found imbedded in it. The sand 
hills west of the Grand Marais, present to the lake, 
for nine miles, a steep acclivity 300 feet high, com- 
posed of light yellow silicious sand, in three layers 
150, SO and 70 feet thick 5 the last mentioned up- 
permost, and like the lowest, pure, while the middle 
bed has many pebbles of granite, limestone, horn- 
blende and quartz. By the subsidence of the waters 
of Lakes Superior and Huron, occasioned, Mr. Lyell 
thinks, by the partial destruction of their barriers at 
some unknown period, beds of sand, 150 feet thick, 



174 



THE C AX A DAS. 



are exposed ; below which are seen beds of clay, en- 
closing shells of the very species which now inhabit 
the lakes. 

Dr. Bigsby, who minutely examined Lake Supe- 
rior, observed, that a red sandstone for the most 
part horizontal, predominates on the south shore, 
resting in places on granite. Amygdaloid occupies 
a very large tract in the north, stretching from Cape 
Verd to the Grand Portage, profusely intermingled 
with argillaceous and other porphyries, sienite, trap- 
pose-greenstone, sandstone, and conglomerates. 
Trappose- greenstone is the prevailing rock from 
Thunder Mountain westward, and gives rise to the 
pilastered precipices in the vicinity of Fort William. 
Part of the north and east shore is the seat of older 
formations, viz. sienite, stratified greenstone, more 
or less chloritic, and alternating five times with vast 
beds of granite, the general direction east, with a 
north or perpendicular dip. 

Great quantities of the older shell limestone are 
found strewn in rolled masses on the beach, from 
Point Marmoaze to Grand Portage j its organic re- 
mains are trilobites, orthoceratites, enerinites, pro- 
ducts, madrepores, terebratulae, &c. At Michipi- 
coton Bay was found a loose mass of pitchstone 
porphyry, the opposite angle being trappose. 

Copper abounds in various parts of the country - y 
in particular, some large and brilliant specimens 
have been found in the angle between Lake Superior 
and Michigan. At the Coppermine River, (Onta- 
nagon 300 miles from the Sault de St. Marie), the 
copper, which is in a pure and malleable state, lies 



GEOLOGY. 



175 



in connexion with a body of serpentine rock, the 
face of which it almost completely overlays ; it is 
also disseminated in masses and grains throughout 
the substance of the rock. Henry and others speak 
of a rock of pure copper, from which the former 
cut off an lOOlbs. weight. Mr. Schoolcraft examined 
the remainder of the mass in 1820, and found it of 
irregular shape, — in its greatest length 3 feet 8 
inches, greatest breadth 3 feet 4 inches, making 
about 1 1 cubic feet, and containing, of metallic mat- 
ter, about 2,200 lbs. ; but there were many marks 
of chisels and axes upon it, as if a great deal had 
been carried off. The surface of the block, unlike 
most metals which have suffered a long exposure to 
the atmosphere, presents a metallic brilliancy. 

Lake Huron. — The almost uniformly level shores 
of Lake Huron present few objects of interest to 
the geologist : secondary limestone, filled with the 
usual reliquiae, constitutes the great mass of struc- 
ture along the coast. Here and there are found de- 
tached blocks of granite, and other primitive rocks 5 
the only simple minerals found by Mr. Schoolcraft 
were pieces of chalcedony in one place, and in an- 
other, crystals of staurolite. Around Saganaw Bay, 
the primitive formation appears to approach nearer 
the surface • the secondary limestone then gives 
place to sandstone, which disintegrates, and forms 
sand banks and beaches as on the sea shore. 

With the exception of spots of sand opposite the 
mouth of Spanish* and other rivers, the shore north 

* This river, the second in size that falls into Lake Huron, 
was discovered so recently as 1820, by Captain Bayfield. 



176 



THE CANADAS. 



of Lake Huron is composed of naked rocks • but 
on the south-east, and at the naval station of Peneta- 
naguishine, there are several undulating alluvial plat- 
forms several hundred feet high, rounded into 
knolls, intersected by water courses, and extending 
to the north-west shores of Lake Simcoe, and in 
fact, to Lakes Erie and Ontario. 

Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior have evi- 
dently been at one time considerably higher than 
they are at the present day, and it would appear 
that the subsidence of their waters has not been 
effected by slow drainage, but by the repeated de- 
struction of their barriers : indeed these three lakes 
have evidently at some remote period formed a single 
body of water, as is evinced by their comparatively 
low dividing ridge, by the existence, in Batchewine 
Bay, of numerous rolled masses which are in situ 
in the north-west parts of Lake Huron, and, among 
many other indications, by the very large boulders 
of the Huggewong granite, and the greenstone of 
Michipicoton, strewn in company with rocks of 
Lake Huron, over the Portage of St. Mary's ; their 
original situation being at least 100 miles north 
from where they are found at present. Great allu- 
vial beds of fresh water shells are found in the east 
of Lake Huron, whose appearance argues them to be 
of post-diluvian formation, effected while the waters 
were still of immense height and extent. 

Lake St. Clair. — The entrance of the Lake of 
St. Clair affords the first indication of the change in 
the geological formation, observed as we proceed 
through the lakes 3 pebbles of granite, hornblende 



CLIMATE. 



177 



rock, and silicious sand are seen on the edge of the 
water, washed out from below the alluvion of the 
banks. According; to the Editor of an able American 
Review, this is probably very near the limits where 
the materials of the primitive formation show 
themselves beneath the secondary, nothing of them 
being* seen on the American side of Lake Erie j but 
around St. Clair, masses of granite, mica slate, and 
quartz, are found in abundance. 

Lake Erie. — The chasm, at Niagara Falls, affords 
a clear indication of the geology of the country. The 
different strata are — first, limestone, — next, fragile 
slate, — and lastly, sandstone. The uppermost and 
lowest of these compose the great secondary forma- 
tion of a part of Canada, and nearly the whole of 
the United States, occupying the whole basin of the 
Mississippi, and extending from it between the lakes 
and the Alleghany ridge of mountains, as far east- 
ward as the Mohawk, between which the slate is 
often interposed, as at Niagara, and throughout the 
the State of New York generally. At Niagara, the 
stratum of slate is nearly forty feet thick, and almost 
as fragile as shale, crumbling so much as to sink 
the superincumbent limestone $ and thus verifying 
to some extent, the opinion that a retrocession of 
the falls has been going on for ages. 

Lake Ontario. — The subsoil around Lake Ontario 
is limestone, resting on granite. The rocks about 
Kingston are usually a limestone of very compact 
structure, and light blueish grey colour, — a fracture 
often approaching the conch oidal, a slight degree of 
translucency on a thin edge j and after percussion, 

VOL. I, N 



ITS 



TEE CANADaS. 



the odour of flint is perceived rather than that of 
bitumen. The lowermost limestones are in general 
more silicious than those above them ; and so much 
is this the case, that, in some places, a conglome- 
rated character is given to the rock by the intrusion 
of pieces of quartz or hornstone. It is worthy of 
remark, that both angular and rounded masses of 
felspar rock, which usually underlies limestone, 
(or, if absent, is supplied by a substratum in which 
hornblende predominates) are imbedded and isolated 
in the limestone, demonstrating the latter to have 
been at one time in a state of fluidity. 

The limestone formation is stratified horizontally, 
its dip being greatest when nearest to the elder rock 
on which it reposes, and by which it would appear 
to have been upraised, subsequently to the solidifi- 
cation of its strata 3 the thickness of which, like 
the depth of the soil, varies from a few feet to a few 
inches. Shale occurs as amongst most limestones ; 
and, in some places so intimately blended with the 
latter, as to cause it to fall to pieces on exposure to 
the atmosphere. The minerals as yet noticed, in 
this formation, are chert or hornstone, basanite, 
chlorite, calcareous spar, barytes, sulphate of stron- 
tian, sulphuret of iron, and sulphuret of zinc. Ge- 
nuine granite is seldom or never found. 

The soils of Upper Canada are various ; that 
which predominates, is composed of brown clay and 
loam, with different proportions of marl intermixed ; 
this compound soil prevails principally in the fer- 
tile country, between the St. Lawrence and Ottawa • 
towards the north shore of Lake Ontario it is more 



MINERALOGY. 



179 



clayey, and extremely productive. The substratum 
throughout these districts is a bed of horizontal 
limestone, which in some places rises to the surface. 
The colour is of different shades of blue, interspersed 
with grains of white quartz. It is used for build- 
ing, and is manufactured into excellent lime by an 
easy process of calcination ■ and it enriches and in- 
vigorates the soil when sprinkled over it. The 
limestone of Niagara differs from the foregoing in 
colour and quality, being grey, and not so easily 
calcined into lime. The Newcastle district lying 
between the upper section of the Ottawa and the 
St. Lawrence, is a rich black mould ; which also 
prevails throughout the East Riding of York, and 
on the banks of the Ouse or Grand River, and the 
Thames. 

At Toronto the soil is fertile ; but stones are 
scarce for common use, which is also the case in 
some townships bordering Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and 
the Detroit, thus demonstrating the alluvial nature 
of the territory. A light sandy soil predominates 
round the head of Lake Ontario. 

Mineralogy. — I have already adverted to the native 
copper found on the banks of Lake Superior, on the 
Coppermine River 3 iron is abundant in various 
parts of the province, particularly at Charlotteville, 
about eight miles from Lake Erie 3 it is of that 
description which is denominated shot ore, a me- 
dium between what is called mountain and bog ore, 
and the metal made is of a superior quality. At the 
Marmora Iron Works, about thirty- two miles north 
of the Bay of Quint e, on the River Trent, and 



ISO 



THE CANADAS. 



which are situate on an extensive white rocky flat, 
bare of stones, and apparently in former times the 
bottom of a river, exhibiting, like many other parts 
of Canada, different ridges and water courses ; the 
iron ore is rich to an excess, some specimens yield- 
ing ninety- two per cent. $ it is found on the surface, 
requiring only to be raised up : there is abundance 
of the requisite materials of limestone and pine fuel 
in the vicinity. Magnetic oxyde, red oxyde, moun- 
tain, or lake ore, and other varieties are met with at 
this place. Black lead is found also at Marmora, 
on the shores of the Gannanoqui Lake, and in the 
eastern division of the colony, where it is said some 
silver mines are known to the Indians ; small speci- 
mens of a metal like silver have been found at 
Marmora. 

Two mineral springs flow at Scarborough, fifteen 
miles east of Toronto. Above the Niagara Falls is 
a phenomenon, termed the Burning Spring, the 
water of which is in a constant state of ebullition, 
black, warm, and emitting so large a portion of 
sulphuretted hydrogen gas as to light a mill, which 
stood at the place, the gas yielding, when concen- 
trated in a tube, a light and beautiful flame 5 in win- 
ter the water loses its burning properties. At the 
head of Lake Ontario there are several fountains, 
strongly impregnated with sulphur ; the latter found 
in substance collected into solid lumps of brimstone. 
The Indians speak of volcanoes in several parts of 
the province, particularly towards the Chippewa 
hunting-grounds. So far as we hear, however, they 
would appear to be In an incipient state - 7 indeed the 



CLIMATE. 



181 



physical configuration and geology of Upper Canada 
lead to the belief that it is but of recent formation 
or rather emersion from the ocean, and that at no 
very distant period of time, instead of a continent, 
there was only a succession of islands and rocks. 
Whether the water in the lowest depths of Lakes 
Superior and Ontario be salt or fresh, we cannot as- 
certain -j for the greater density of the former may 
keep it always below, or there may be a communi- 
cation with the fathomless abysses of the ocean. 

Salt " licks " (springs) are numerous 5 one at Salt 
Fleet yielded a barrel of salt a day. Near the Mora- 
vian villages, on the River Thames, there are springs 
of petroleum, and a bituminous substance appears 
on several of the waters in the north west country : 
on the above named river there is a quarry of soft 
free stone, of a dark colour, which the Indians hew 
out with their axes : it will not endure the heat of 
fire, but is useful for building. Near the Gannano- 
qui lake is found a soft-soap stone, with a smooth 
oily surface. Gypsum is obtained in large quan- 
tities and of excellent quality on the Grand, or Ouse 
river. Potter's and Pipe Clay are frequent, and Yel- 
low Ochre is occasionally met with. 

Climate of the Canadas. — The temperature of 
this extensive country varies of course with the dis- 
tance from the equator, — the contiguity to ranges 
of uncultivated mountains, &c, but as a whole, the 
clear blue sky, the absence of fogs, and the conse- 
quent peculiar elasticity of animal fibre, indicate the 
salubriousness of British North America. In the 
Eastern provinces or Lower Canada, the greater 



182 



THE CAN A DAS. 



severity of the winter, is owing partly to its N.E, 
position, and partly to the N. E. range of lofty 
mountains. In the more N. part of the province, the 
snow commences in November, but seldom con- 
tinues many days on the ground before December, 
when the whole country is covered for several feet 
deep, and it does not entirely disappear before the 
beginning of May. The frost during this period is 
generally intense, with N. W. winds and clear at- 
mosphere, during the greater part of the winter ~ 
but on a change of wind to the southward and east- 
ward, the weather is overcast, the atmosphere be- 
comes damp, sometimes accompanied with thick 
fog and snow falls, with a considerable rise in the 
thermometer, — which usually ranges, during the 
months of December, January, February, and 
March, from 32 to 25 below zero — Fahrenheit. In 
1790, Mercury froze at Quebec. It is often 60 
Fahrenheit below the freezing point — 20. is the 
average. As an experiment, bomb-shells were nearly 
tilled with water of the temperature of 5 1 degrees be- 
low the freezing point 3 an iron plug was then driven 
into the fuse -hole by a sledge-hammer 3 when the 
water froze, the plug was forced out with a loud 
report, and with great velocity, to a considerable 
extent ; a plug 2| oz. weight was thrown 415 yards, 
the elevation of the fuse axis being at 45. When 
a plug with notched springs, permitting its expan- 
sion within the shell, was used, the shell always 
burst. Hocks, particularly those of the calcareous, 
schistous, and sand-stone order, are often rent as if 
with gunpowder, by the expansive force of intense 



CLIMATE. 



I S3 



frost. During the cold frosty nights, the woods 
creak, as if 10,000 bucherons were at them with their 
hatchets. 

As the winter comes on, one snow storm suc- 
ceeds another till the face of the whole country is 
changed, — every particle of ground is covered, 
the trees alone remaining visible, — and even the 
mighty river St. Lawrence is arrested in its course 5 
everywhere, in fact, the chilling influence of winter is 
felt, and every precaution is taken by man, to resist 
its benumbing effects. All the feathered tribes take 
the alarm- — even the hardy crow retreats — and few 
quadrupeds are to be seen : some, like the bear, re- 
maining in a torpid state 3 and others, like the hare, 
changing their colour to pure white, and thus with 
difficulty to be discerned amid the snow. 

From Quebec to Montreal, the St. Lawrence ceases 
to be navigable, and serves as a road for the sleighs 
and carrioles. The carriole varies in shape accord- 
ing to the fancy of the owner ; sometimes like that 
of a phaeton, or gig, or a chariot, or family coach : 
the body is placed on what are called runners, which 
resemble in form the irons of a pair of skaits, rising 
up in front in the same manner and for the same 
purposes. The high runners are about eighteen 
inches 5 but generally the carriole is about twelve 
inches above the snow, over which it glides with 
great ease, on a level surface, without sinking deep : 
but when cahots (from cahoter, to jolt), a word which 
denotes narrow ridges with deep furrows, are formed 
in the snow, the motion is like rowing in a boat 
against a head sea, producing a sensation, until one 



184 



THE CAXADAS. 



is accustomed to it, somewhat like sea-sickness. The 
carriole is often mounted with silver, and ornamented 
with expensive furs. The traineaux, burline, cutter 
and sleigh are all varieties of the carriole. Instead of 
the variety which a Canadian summer presents, by 
enabling the traveller to trace the course of noble 
rivers — to contemplate the fall of mighty cataracts 
— the gaiety and liveliness of the busy hum of com- 
merce in the passing vessels on the moving waters 
— the fine tints of the forests, and the auburn tinge 
of the ripening corn — the whistle of the plough- 
boy, and the lowing of the tended kine — nothing 
is now to be seen but one continued solid plain - ? no 
rivers, no ships, no animals — all one uniform, un- 
broken plain of snow, the average depth of which, 
unless where accumulated by snow-storms or drifts^ 
is about 30 inches. 

The dress of the Canadian now undergoes a com- 
plete change 5 the hat and bonnet rouge are thrown 
aside, and fur caps, fur cloaks, fur gloves, are put 
in requisition, with worsted hose over as well as 
under his boots : those who take exercise on foot 
use snow shoes, or mocassins, which are made of a 
kind of network, fixed on a frame, and shaped like 
a boy's paper kite, about two feet long, and 18 
inches broad 5 these cover so much of the surface 
of the snow that the wearer sinks but a very few 
inches, even when the snow is softest. 

While the severity of the season is thus guarded 
against by the Canadians when out of doors, their 
habitations are also secured against the destructive 
power of intense cold. The walls of the houses 



CLIMATE. 



1S5 



are usually plastered* on the outside, to preserve 
the stones from moisture, which, if acted on by the 
frost, is liable to split them ; and the apartments 
are heated with stoves, which keep the tempera- 
ture at a higher and more uniform rate than our 
English fire-places do. 

And here it may be observed, that the result of 
intense cold (such as is felt in Canada) is, if not 
guarded against, similar to that of intense heat ; 
with this difference, that it is easier to guard against 
the effects of the one in N. America than of the 
other in India. A cold iron during a Canadian win- 
ter, when tightly grasped, blisters and burns with 
nearly equal facility as a hot iron. The principle, 
in both instances, is alike — in the former, the caloric 
or vital heat of the body passes so rapidly from 
the hand into the cold iron, as to destroy the con- 
tinuous and organic structure of the part 5 in the 
latter, the caloric passes so rapidly from the hot iron 
into the hand, as to produce the same effect : heat, 
in both cases, being the cause 5 its passing into the 
body from the iron, or into the iron from the body, 
being equally injurious to vitality. From a similar 
cause the incautious traveller, in Canada, is burnt 
in the face by a very cold wind, with the same sen- 
sations as when he is exposed to the blast of an 
eastern sirocco. Milton thus alludes to the effects 
of cold in his description of the abode of Satan 

* It has been found difficult to get plaster to adhere, parti- 
cularly if exposed to the easterly wind ; but by mixing a 
couple of pounds of Muscovado sugar with a bushel of lime, 
a hard and durable rough casting is produced. 



186 



THE C A NAD AS . 



and his compeers : after adverting to Styx he 
says — 

" Beyond this flood, a frozen continent 
Lies, dark and wild, beat with perpetual storms 
Of whirlwind and dire hail, which, on firm land 
Thaws not, but gathers heap, and ruin seems 
Of ancient pile : all else deep snow and ice ; 
A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog 
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old, 
Where armies whole have sunk : the parching air 
Burns frore, (frozen) and cold performs the effect of fire."* 
Paradise Lost, Book ii. 

We also find in Virgil Georg. I. 93 — 

Boreas penetrabile frigus adurat. 

The term frost-bitten denotes the effect produced by 
extreme cold, accompanied by a sharp biting wind. 
In such weather, persons are liable to have the nose, 
toes, fingers, ears, or those parts where the circula- 
tion of the blood is scanty and slow, frost-bitten, 
without being made aware of the change by their 
own sensations • and it not unfrequently happens 
that they are first informed of their misfortune by a 
passing stranger, who observes the nose for in- 
stance, becoming quite white, while the rest of the 
face is very red. In such a predicament, it is at 
first startling to see an utter stranger running up to 
you with a handful of snow, calling out <c your nose, 
sir: your nose is frost-bitten and, without further 

* Dogs become mad at Quebec in December and January 
w T hen the cold is greatest. Extreme cold and extreme heat 
being equally favourable to the propagation of hydrophobia. 



CLIMATE. 



187 



eeremony,rubs without mercy at your proboscis — 
it being the first time, perhaps, that any one has 
ever dared to tweak and twinge that exquisitely sen- 
sitive organ — which some have considered the seat 
of honour. If snow be well rubbed in in due time, 
there is a chance of saving the most prominent 
feature of the face ; if not, or if heat be applied, 
not only is the skin destroyed, but the nose, and a 
great part of the adjacent surface, are irrecoverably 
lost, 

The result of the long-continued action of snow 
or cold on the animal frame is inevitable death, and 
that of the most pleasing kind - — at first a degree 
of languor is felt, — to this succeeds an oppressive 
drowsiness, which, if indulged in, is surely fatal — 
the sufferer passing, without motion or pain, from 
the slumber of life into the cold sleep of death, 
leaving the countenance as calm and placid as if the 
pulse of existence still vibrated through the frame, 
while voluntary muscular power was suspended, 
under the delightful enjoyment of sound repose. 
Those who feel the pleasurable moments which in- 
tervene between the states of consciousness and 
unconsciousness on approaching sleep, — when in- 
distinct visions and indescribable emotions are ex- 
perienced by the guileless, may readily conceive the 
exquisite mode in which the soporific influence of 
frost softens the iron grasp of the grim tyrant. It 
is probable that the death from inhaling the vapour 
of burning charcoal, is somewhat similar to this. It 
must not, however, be supposed that the severity of 
the winter is any obstacle to out-door amusements, 



18S 



THE CAXADAS. 



though it stops the navigation of the rivers and the 
cultivation of the soil 3 on the contrary, winter in 
Canada is the season of joy and pleasure : the cares 
of business are laid aside, and all classes and ranks 
indulge in a general carnival, as some amends for the 
toil undergone during the summer months. The 
sleigh or carriole of the humble habit an, or proud 
seigneur, is got ready all over the country — riding 
abroad on business or pleasure commences — visiting 
is in active play between friends, neighbours, and 
relatives — regular city and town balls, and irregular 
pic-nic country parties, where each guest brings his 
dish, are quite the rage 3 and, after dining, dancing, 
and supping, and dancing again, the wintry morning- 
dawn is ushered in, while the festive glee is yet at its 
height, and a violent snow-storm often blockades 
the picnickers, until broad daylight enables them to 
carriole towards home — over the ice-bound rivers and 
waves of snow, in all the enjoyments of which the 
lightest hearted beings can be susceptible — con- 
sidering the hardships and inconveniencies of the 
moment, as a zest to the more staid and fashionable 
routes of Quebec or Montreal. 

Travelling over frozen rivers or lakes is, however, 
not unattended with real danger 3 the sleigh, its 
horses and passengers, being not unfrequently in- 
stantly engulphed, and sucked beneath the ice 3 
there being no warning of the danger until the 
horses sink, dragging the carriole and its inmates 
after them. Fortunately, the weak or thin places 
are in general of no great extent 3 and when the 
horses are found to be sinking, the passengers in- 



CLIMATE. 



189 



stantly leap out on the strong ice, seize the ropes, 
which, with a running noose, are placed ready for 
such an emergency on every sleigh horse's neck, 
and, by sheer pulling, the animal is strangled in 
order to save his life ! This is absolutely a fact. 
If the horse be allowed to kick and struggle, it only 
serves to injure and sink him : as soon, however, 
as the noose is drawn tight, his breathing is momen- 
tarily checked, strangulation takes place, the animal 
becomes motionless, rises to the surface, floats on one 
side, and is then drawn out on the strong ice, when 
the noose being loosened, respiration re-commences, 
and the horse is on his feet carrioling away again in 
a few minutes as briskly as ever. This singular 
and almost incredible operation has been known to 
be performed two or threeNtimes a day on the same 
horse 5 and the Americans say, that like Irishmen, 
the animals are so used to being hanged that they think 
nothing of it. Often, however, horses, sleigh or 
carriole, and passengers, are in a moment sunk, and 
sw T ept beneath the ice. The traveller on the frozen 
rivers, but more especially on the frozen lakes, 
incurs also great danger from the large rifts or 
openings which run from one side of the lake to 
the other, from one to six feet broad, causing, at 
some distance from the crack, a shelving up of the 
ice to the height of several feet, in proportion to the 
breadth of the fissure. The sleigh drivers, when 
they see no other mode of passing, or of escape, 
make the horses endeavour to leap the chink at full 
gallop, with the sleigh behind them, at the imminent 
risk of being engulphed in the lake. 



190 



THE Cx^NADAS. 



A snow-storm is another source of danger to the 
American traveller ; and there is, indeed, something 
truly awful and terrific in a snow-storm on land, as 
well in as a hurricane at sea, with this disadvantage 
attending the traveller on terra firma, that he has no 
land-marks, supplying the place of the mariner's 
compass, to guide him in his trackless path, while 
the intellects become rapidly bewildered, memory 
fails, and a road often travelled, and formerly well 
known, is utterly lost in the remembrance of the 
unfortunate traveller. While the heavy fall of snow 
is taking place, it is accompanied by a violent gale 
of wind, which drifts the light snow along with 
great velocity, forming in its progress innumerable 
eddies and turnings according to the inequalities 
of the surface, and raising as it were light clouds 
from the earth, which obscure and confuse every 
thing. This drift, which the Canadians call La 
Poudre, consists of minute but intensely frozen 
particles of snow, which, whirled by the impetuosity 
of the hurricane, force their way through the 
smallest window or door chink, leaving large heaps 
of snow on the floor in a few hours, as we some- 
times experience on a small scale in England. I 
cannot here forbear giving the following picturesque 
Canadian song, by Mrs. Moodie, which, while it de- 
picts the danger of the traveller over the snow, 
cheers us with the feelings which welcome the 
parent and the husband at the cottage door, when 
the perils of the ice-bound flood are past : — 



CLIMATE. 



191 



'Tis merry to hear at evening time, 
By the blazing hearth, the sleigh-bell's chime;* 
And to know each bound of the steed brings nigher 
The friend for whom we have heaped the fire. 
Light leap our hearts, while the listening hound 
Springs forth to hail him with bark and bound. 

'Tis he ! and blithly the gay bells sound, 
As his sleigh glides over the frozen ground ; 
Hark ! he has passed the dark pine-wood, 
And skims like a bird o'er the ice-bound flood ; 
Now he catches the gleam from the cabin door, 
Which tells that his toilsome journey's o'er. 

Our cabin is small, and coarse our cheer, 
But love has spread the banquet here ; 
And childhood springs to be caressed 
By our well-beloved and welcome guest ; 
With a smiling brow his tale he tells, 
While the urchins ring the merry sleigh-bells. 

From the cedar- swamp the gaunt wolves howl, 
From the hollow oak loud whoops the owl, 
Scared by the crash of the falling tree : 
But these sounds bring terror no more to me ; 
No longer I listen with boding fear, 
The sleigh-bell's distant chime to hear. 

Below Quebec the St. Lawrence is not frozen over, 
but the navigation is impeded by the large masses 
of ice which are floated down the river from the 
upper districts, and kept in motion by the combined 
action of the current at the narrows opposite Que- 
bec, and the diurnal influence of the ocean tides. 

* The horses in the sleighs or carrioles have small bells hung 
on the harness, the sound of which is cheering to the animal as 
well as to his master : in a frosty night, sound is rapidly and 
extensively conveyed to an anxious and listening ear, and the 
tinkle of the distant sleigh bell may well be thought musical. 



192 



THE CANADAS. 



To cross the river at these times, though a dange- 
rous enterprise, is one that is constantly performed. 
The period chosen is high water when the large 
masses of ice are almost stationary ; the canoe is 
then launched, the people being provided with ropes, 
boat-hooks and paddles 5 when a sheet of ice is 
reached the passengers jump out on it, drawing the 
canoe after them, until they come to another open- 
ing, when they again launch their fragile convey- 
ance, which is pushed towards another sheet of ice, 
and so on, the greatest dexterity being necessary to 
avoid being crushed to pieces, canoe and all, between 
two of the huge masses of ice when coming toge- 
ther with a violent crash. 

At distant intervals, about once in ten years, the 
St, Lawrence is frozen across completely at Que- 
bec, when a grand rejoicing takes place, a kind of 
jubilee in fact 5 booths are erected on the ice, sleigh 
races are enacted, skating, driving, &c. occur on a 
smooth sheet of ice, which for eight miles appears 
like a minor, and the pont (as it is termed) enables 
the country people on the opposite side from Que- 
bec to bring their frozen provisions &c. to market 
in their carrioles without the difficulty and danger of 
crossing the half frozen river in their slight canoes. 

As soon as the winter sets in, the farmer is obliged 
to house all his cattle sheep and poultry, when those 
destined for winter use are killed before they lose any 
of the fat acquired during the summer and autumn. 
]No salt is necessary to preserve them — they are 
exposed to the frost for a short time, when they be- 
come as hard as ice, and in this state, after being 



CLIMATE. 



193 



packed in casks or boxes with snow, are preserved 
from the external air. At the end of four or five 
months they are still perfectly good, and thawed for 
use with cold water — w T arm fluid would render the 
provisions quite useless. Fish is also preserved 
in a similar manner, and it is stated may be restored 
to life four or five days after being immediately frozen 
when taken out of water. From these circumstances, 
housekeeping is less expensive in winter than in 
summer. 

During the month of April, the influence of the 
sun on the ice and snow begins to be felt, and about 
the first week in May, the snow has all disappeared 
in the neighbourhood of Quebec 3* and the ice which 
had been accumulating in the great lakes and rivers 
that pay tribute to the St. Lawrence, rushes down 
in vast masses nnd almost incredible quantities to- 
wards the ocean, which again dashes it inland with 
the impetuosity of the gulf tides, presenting an ex- 
traordinary and almost terrific scene : sometimes the 
St. Lawrence is choked up from bank to bank with 
masses of ice from 4 to 500 yards in diameter, — the 
sea- tide and land current force these on one another, 
and break them into small pieces, forming fantastic 
groups of figures, high above the surface of the 
river, — the effect of the wind and water on these 
masses may easily be imagined. The navigation of the 
river is not said to be completely open until they 
have all disappeared, which is about the second week 
in May 5 vessels attempting to get out of, or to enter 

* The spring is three weeks earlier at Montreal, distant on 
the St. Lawrence about 180 miles. 



VOL. I. 



O 



194 



THE CANADAS. 



the St. Lawrence while the ice is forming or disap- 
pearing, are frequently lost, by being embayed, and 
crushed to pieces during a severe storm, when the 
running rigging, and even the rudder become im- 
moveable. It is worthy of notice, that so large a river 
as the St. Lawrence, in lat. 47, should be shut up with 
ice as early, and remain as long closed (five months) 
as the comparatively small river Neva, in lat. 60. 

A singular meteorological phenomenon occurs in 
the midst of a Canadian winter, when the mercury 
F. is 60° below the freezing point ; suddenly, in the 
course of a day (in January generally) it ascends 2° 
or 3° above the point of congelation, the weather 
instantly changing from the greatest degree of cold 
to a complete thaw. The streets are inundated 
with the melted snow, the roads become soft, and 
carrioling on the river dangerous 5 the thaw some- 
times lasts for ten days, when intense frost again 
commences, producing a beautiful effect on the trees, 
namely, an incrustation of ice, from the smallest 
branch to the trunk, and which, if the sun shines 
upon them, produces the appearance of fairy work 
or enchantment. 

The severest winters are generally accompanied 
by N. E. winds, which convey from Labrador and 
by the icy Pole, new supplies of snow and frost 3 but 
the prevailing winds throughout the year are westerly ; 
in the winter, cold sharp and dry airs blow from the 
N. and N. W. and in the summer genial breezes come 
from the W. and JS. W. The E. wind blows for a 
few days in each month, and in the spring, during 
April and May, for a longer period. The Aurora 



CLIMATE. 



195 



Borealis, or northern lights, are extremely brilliant, 
and assume various forms — at one time, like gorgeous 
floating standards — at another as a vast crescent, 
changing into magnificent columns or pillars of re- 
splendent light, which move in majestic grandeur 
from the horizon towards the zenith, until the whole 
firmament becomes splendidly irradiated — suddenly 
vanishing, and as suddenly reappearing under new 
forms and colours, and with varied brilliancy, until 
they entirely disappear. It is said by some, that a 
rustling like that of silk is heard during a fine Aurora. 
Mr. McGregor never heard it in Labrador. 

But it is time to leave the consideration of hoary 
winter, and hasten, with the husbandman and lover 
of nature, to experience the delight of again behold- 
ing green sods, verdant groves, and flowing rivers. 
The summer commences about the middle of May, 
and is usually ushered in by moderate rains, and a 
rapid rise in the meridian heat, though the nights 
are still cool ; but in June, July and August, the heat 
becomes great, and for a few days oppressive, the 
thermometer ranging from 80° to 95° in the shade 5 
but the average heat during the summer seldom ex- 
ceeds 75°. 

A good idea of the spring of the year may be 
formed from the following Agricultural report for 
April and May, 1834— the intending emigrant will 
doubtless be gratified with the perusal : — 

LOWER CANiVDA AGRICULTURAL REPORT, FOR 

APRIL AND MAY, 1834. 
Early in April well prepared soils were in good order to re- 
ceive the seed, and about the 10th or 12th wheat sowing was 



196 



THE CAN ADAS. 



very generally commenced. The weather continuing fine to 
the 21st, afforded opportunity to those farmers who had done 
their ploughing last fall, to get in their seed in good season. 
From the 21st, the month of April was distinguished, as it often 
is, by the rapidity of its changes, from heat to cold, wet, and 
severe night frosts. The change was so great as to stop vege- 
tation almost entirely. Cold changeable weather continued to 
the middle of May — on the night of the 14th ice was formed, 
and on the 15th there was a considerable fall of snow. From 
the 16th to the end of the month, the weather was exceedingly 
favourable, and vegetation has got on with great vigour. 

Farmers have not met with much interruption this spring 
from wet days, and consequently should now have their work 
in a state of great forwardness ; sowing and planting ought to 
be completed by the 10th of June, and thus give a month's in- 
terval to haying time, to prepare summer fallow on lands that 
require it, and always in preference to sowing oats, after the 
1st of June. 

The pastures should now be good, and will soon improve 
the condition of the cattle. Dairy produce appears to be abun- 
dant in the market, and the prices moderate. 

Notwithstanding the shortness of the seasons that farmers 
have here to work in the fields, Canada is by no means un- 
favourable for farming, and in ordinary seasons, with the seed 
got in early, on soils well prepared, a good crop of all kinds of 
grain, wheat particularly, may generally be obtained. "With 
command of labour, which continued emigration will give, the 
farmer has only to employ double the number of hands for the 
working season, while the days are long and fine, that he would 
have required in England for the whole year, and he may get 
all his work done, perhaps at not a greater expense, and the 
labourer will have his summer's earnings to take to the woods, 
(if he has a family) , to commence farming on his own account, 
which should be the ultimate aim of all the labouring class of 
emigrants, if they expect to secure future independence for 
themselves and their families. 

At this moment the country is charming ; after a long and 
gloomy winter, the earth is again renovated — new life restored 
to plants — the trees dressed in leaves and blossoms — the fields 



CLIMATE. 



197 



in beautiful green, and all nature appears to rejoice. Though 
every field may not be equally luxuriant, the general appearance 
of the country is delightful, and ought to be perfectly satisfac- 
tory to all those engaged in agriculture, more particularly those 
who have performed their part well. 

Cote St. Paul, May 31, 1834. Wm. Evans. 

That the climate of Canada has undergone a change 
rs shown by the mean height of the thermometer at 
8 a.m., for the month of July in the following years: — 
1799, 66.S7; 1802, 68.35 ; 1806, 65.96; 1809, 
6O.6O5 1812, 62.16; 1814, 60.45; 1816, 58.65; 
ISIS, 64.00. Since 1818 the change has been con- 
siderable, partly owing to the motion of the Magnetic 
Poles * and the clearing consequent on the cultiva- 
tion of the country, the effect of which is mainly 

* It is supposed that the poles of the globe and the isother- 
mal poles (which appear to approximate very near to the mag- 
netic poles of the earth) , are by no means coincident — but that 
on the contrary, there exist two different points within a few 
degrees of the poles, where the cold is greatest in both hemis- 
pheres ; this connection led Dr. Brewster to suppose that if 
the centres of greatest cold be also precisely the centres of 
magnetic attraction, and if from some unknown but necessary 
connection they are always coincident, then we derive from the 
known motion of the magnetic poles, an explanation of the most 
remarkable revolutions that have taken place on the surface of 
the earth. This theory of Dr. Brewster's appears to me to be 
borne out by facts — by the singular change which the climates 
of all countries have at various times undergone, and by the 
great breaking up of the icy regions of the south pole which is 
now taking place. Dr. Brewster thinks that the cold points 
are at present situate about the 80th parallel of Latitude, and 
in the meridians of 95° East and 100° West Longitude. The 
meridians of these isothermal lines he considers as lying nearly 
at right angles to the parallels of what may be termed the pa- 



19S 



THE CANADAS. 



observable in the lengthened duration of summer, 
and consequent shortening of winter. 

During the summer months there is a great deal 
of electric fluid in the atmosphere, and the vividness 
of the lightning and loudness of the thunder are 
sometimes appalling in the extreme. As a general 
rule, it may be observed that the prevailing winds 
(viz. N.E., N. W. and S. W.) have considerable in- 
fluence on the temperature of the atmosphere and 
state of the weather. The S. W. (the most preva- 
lent) is generally moderate, and accompanied by clear 
skies 5 the N. E. and E. bring continued rain in sum- 
mer, and snow in winter - y the N. W. is dry, cold and 
elastic, owing to the ice-bound region from which it 
springs. Winds from due N., S. or W. are not fre- 
quent, and the direction of the tide, which is felt for 
nearly 60 miles above Quebec, often causes a change 
in the atmospheric current. 

rallels of the Meteorological Latitudes, which Dr. B. supposes 
to have an obliquity of direction as regards the equator, after 
the manner of the zodiac — ergo, the cold circle of latitude which 
passes through Siberia, would be the same that traverses the 
coldest part of Canada. It is a fact that a wide discrepancy 
marks the temperature of corresponding latitudes in Europe 
and America ; the inhabited parts of the two Canadas lie be- 
tween 42 and 48 of N. Latitude, and should therefore enjoy the 
temperature of central and southern Europe, if influenced merely 
by their distance from the Equator and Pole, but the tables 
given in various parts of this volume show that it is far other- 
wise ; yet when we remember that the Tiber was formerly 
frozen annually — that snow was usual at Rome — that the 
Euxine sea, the Rhone and Rhine were almost every year co- 
vered with a strong sheet of ice, we may look forward to yet 
greater modifications of the climate of Canada. 



CLIMATE. 



199 



Among the meteoric phenomena observed in 
Canada,, I may here record that singular one, termed 
the c dark days which occurred in October, 1785, 
and in July, 1814. These appearances (as de- 
scribed in the transactions of the Quebec Literary 
and Horticultural Society,) consisted of a dismal 
pitchy darkness at noon-day, continuing about ten 
minutes at a time, and frequently repeated at twelve, 
two, three and four o'clock, the intervals being 
partially relieved by vast masses of clouds streaked 
with yellow, driving athwart the darkened sky, 
accompanied by sudden gusts of wind with much 
thunder, lightning and rain, the latter extremely 
black, and in 1814, mixed with ashes and black 
powder. In the latter instance, when the sun could 
be seen, it appeared of a bright red colour. The 
Indians account for this phenomenon by ascribing 
it to a volcano, in Labrador $ and Mr. Gagnon has 
placed on record that he witnessed at St. Paul's 
Bay, in the Saguenay country, in 1791, the flames of a 
vast volcano, during the month of December, accom- 
panied by violent shocks : flames mixed with dark 
smoke were thrown to a great height, causing the 
whole atmosphere to appear one mass of fire, — which 
was in strange contrast with the surrounding suow. 
As Canada becomes cleared, and its swamps drained, 
the health of its inhabitants is materially benefitted, 
and they may be said in general to enjoy as salu- 
brious an atmosphere as we do in England, while 
the heat of summer is less relaxing, and the cold 
of winter more bracing than at New York, or in- 
deed any part of the United States. As regards 



200 



THE CANADAS. 



agriculture, the lengthened winter of Lower Canada 
is certainly not on the whole unfavourable to the 
tiller of the soil. The effect of snow on the earth 
for a long period, is well known to be favourable 
and the fall of deep snow in a country where frost 
prevails from five to six months, is one instance 
among many, of the beautiful arrangements of Pro- 
vidence ; had it not been so, the continued action 
of cold on the earth would have so robbed it 
of its natural caloric, that the heat of several hot 
summers would have been required to restore the 
warmth necessary to the germination of plants, and 
the ascension of the sap in vegetables. The natural 
heat of the earth is about 42° Fahrenheit ; but it has 
been ordained by the Being, who has so wonderfully 
adapted means to an end in every instance, that 
water when cooled down to 32° Fahrenheit, should 
be converted into snow and ice , by this means, the 
rivers and the land, with their myriads of fish and 
insects, are protected by a dense crust of ice, which 
is a non-conductor of heat, from the pernicious in- 
fluence of that immense volume of cold atmosphere, 
which is continually pressing from the polar regions 
towards the equator. Thus, that very coating of 
snow, which seems so rigorous in itself, is in fact 
a warm garment for the earth 3 and as soon as the 
returning sun has driven back the north winds to 
their icy region, the latent caloric of the earth begins 
to be developed, the snow melts, and percolates 
with rapidity the stifFest soils, rendering them 
peculiarly friable, and adapted to the immediate 
labours of the husbandman ; while it is a singular 



CLIMATE. 



201 



fact, that for a month or six weeks before the visible 
termination of the Canadian winter,, vegetation is in 
active process even on the surface of the earth, 
beneath a covering of snow several feet thick. 

Montreal being a central point of Lower Canada, 
it will be preferable to give an idea of its climate 
in regard to the thermometer, barometer, winds 
and rain. I therefore subjoin the following extracts 
from Meteorological Tables for the year 1831, kept 
at Montreal by Dr. W. Robertson. 



JANUARY. 



Date. 


Thermometer. 


Barometer. 


am. 


1 w mo. at 
I -^ 00n * 




7 A.M. 


3 P. II. 


7 A. M. 


j P. M 






1 


30 


24 


29.50 


29.15 




wsw 


2 


18 


18 


30. 5 


1 30. 5 




sw 


3 


15 


21 


30.35 


30.35 


"20 


NE 


4 


26 


33 


30. 7 


29.90 


.40 


N. 


5 


36 


33 


29-90 


29.92 


.15 


SW 


6 


2 


34 


30.15 


30.17 




SW 


7 


25 


24 


30.12 


30.18 




w 


8 


12 


18 


30.37 


30.38 




SW 


9 


8 


13 


30.32 


30.27 




N 


10 


—2 


13 


30.17 


30. 7 




NNE. 


11 


14 


29 


29.97 


29.87 




ESE 


12 


8 


8 


30. 8 


30.20 




WNW 


13 


—6 


6 


30.45 


30.42 




WSW 


14 


6 


16 


30.38 


30.35 




W 


15 


3 


11 


30.15 


30. 4 




N 


16 


17 


22 


30. 


29.98 




NNE 


17 


3 


13 


30. 


29.90 




WSW 


18 


13 


30 


29.68 


29-63 




SW 


19 


12 


16 


29.47 


29.46 




w 


20 


— 8 


6 


29-79 


29.90 




WNW 


21 


—15 


3 


30. 5 


30. 




sw 


22 


— 3 


8 


29.55 


29.45 


S. 


NE 


23 


— 5 


1 


29.60 


29.70 


S. 


wsw 


24 


—10 





29.75 


29.68 




WSW 


25 


— 4 


9 


29.58 


29.50 




sw 


26 


10 


22 


29.50 


29-48 




sw 


27 


12 


22 


29.60 


29.65 


s. 


w 


28 


13 


20 


29.97 


30. 




W by N 


29 


5 


20 


29 99 


29.95 




WSW 


30 


6 


23 


29.95 


29.95 




WSW 


31 


21 


32 

1 


29.95 


29.93 




s 



202 



THE CAN AD AS. 



JULY. 



Date. 


Thermometer. 


Barometer. 


Inches 
of rain. 


Wind at 
Noon. 







3 P. M. 


7 \. M. 


3 P. M. 






1 


64 




qo Is 






N. 


- 


72 


88 








ssw 


3 




9* 


30 32 


on 9- 

tn To 




wsw 


4 


7^ 


95 


'on 
30.20 


■ 




wsw 


5 


<TS 
/° 


86 




29.80 


".20 


sw 


6 


71 


87 


on'01 
29.81 


29.90 


.20 


w 


7 


fin 

oy 


88 


29-97 


29.97 




N 


8 


71 


92 


29.96 


29.90 


.20 


SE 


9 


80 


68 


29.7 


29-80 


.15 


WNW 


10 




Do 


30. 3 


30. 7 




WNW 


11 


52 


75 








SW 


12 




82 


30. 2o 


30.10 




sw 


13 


60 


88 


30. 7 


30. 




ssw 


14 


65 




29-92 


29.88 




SSE 


15 


64 


68 


29.87 


29.82 


.15 


NE 


16 


65 


76 


29.86 


29. 80 




wsw 


17 


62 


76 


29.90 


29.89 




wsw 


18 


65 


70 


29-85 


29 60 




SSE 


19 


66 


76 


29.70 


29.60 


.40 


sw 


20 


65 


78 


29-70 


29.64 




SW 


21 


66 


80 


29 70 


29.65 




wsw 


22 


66 


80 


29.70 


2973 
29.68 




w 


23 


65 


76 


29.75 


.10 


SE 


24 


67 


82 


29.75 


29-78 




SSW 


•25 


66 


79 


29-82 


29.72 


.30 


ssw 


26 


66 


74 


29.75 


29.70 


.23 


w. 


27 


55 


76 


29-S5 


29.95 




w. 


28 


65 


79 


29. 80 


29.75 


.25 


SSE. 


29 


60 


80 


29.90 


29.92 




sw. 


30 


62 


85 


29.95 


29.78 


".10 


s. 


31 


70 


78 


29.85 


29.92 


.5 


N. 



Upper* Canada. — Of course,, in an extent of country, 
lying, between 42 and 50 of north latitude, the 
climate is various 3 in the settled townships it is 
generally delightful, neither so cold in winter as 
Lower Canada, nor so hot in summer as New York ; 
in the Newcastle district, between 44 and 45, a man 
may work in the woods, the whole winter, with 
his coat off, as in England ; and the summer heat 
is tempered by a cool breeze, which sets in from 



CLIMATE. 



203 



the S. W. about 10 a, m., and lasts generally to 3 
or 4 p. m. In summer, the wind blows two-thirds 
of the season from the S. W., i, e. along the great 
lakes. 

In spring and autumn, this wind brings a good 
deal of moisture with it. The N. W. which is the 
most frequent in winter, is dry, cold, and elastic $ 
the S. E. soft, thawy, and rainy : the wind seldom 
blows from west or south, more rarely still from 
the north. Of course, changes of wind are accom- 
panied by corresponding alternations of weather • 
the most sudden are to the N. W., followed by 
weather clear and cold for the season— almost every 
thunder shower clears up with this wind : the longest 
storms of rain, and the deepest falls of snow, are 
usually accompanied by easterly winds. It may be 
generally remarked, that the human frame, in all 
climates, is more sensibly affected by the quarter 
whence the wind blows, than by the mere height of 
the thermometer, — humidity with cold or heat ren- 
dering the extremes of each less endurable. The 
table which will be found on the following page, 
affords a comparative view of the climate of Upper 
and Lower Canada throughout the year, as regards 
the highest, lowest, and mean temper taure, for each 
month, in Upper and Lower Canada, — latitude 42. 
north in Upper Canada, — latitude 45. in Lower 
Canada. 



204 



THE CANADA $. 



LOWER CANADA. 


Cloudy 


•a 


CO 


u . 

° is 
s o 

& m 


•a 1-1 


<© - ^ « .2 

iO <M 2 M CS 


i 




DB 

r*>CO*-«iO»r3CO<0«0<OCO«0-(<CO 


«o 

10 
<N 


UPPER CANADA. 


>, 
■0 

13 
O 

O 


^ 05 1~>. 01 ■<* tj< n ic a n x 




H 

cS C 


DO 

1 - - - 


as -* S 10 .5 

CO CO 


3 

<u 
O 






LOWER CANADA. 


s 

c3 
5 

a 


1 " 

11- 14 

10- 69 

12- 13 
48-91 

67-84 

76-34 
82-23 
74-7 
59-16 
32-24 
17-44 

11- 94 


U5 « 

1 ►! 1 


3 


w 0.0 oo >o « 00 aco -h 

<M CN <N CO irjSO lO M <-i<M 

III II 


CO CO 

p— 1 CC "4* 
^ iO CN 




MON-wmnooioocc 


iO CO «o 
CN CO <© 

<0 Oi CO 

w r>. o> 

CO CO ^ 

1 1 1 

-* N « 


UPPER CANADA. 


s 


18-17 

23-87 
26-94 
59-70 

67-32 
77-51 
81-37 
73-24 
64-45 

48- 

34-53 

25-43 


S3 
I 


O00COOKO>0«00O(N 


N &• 
N (O <? 

J) N 4 
CN »0 | 







CO©<NeO<Mt>.COO><N"'*Tj<^ 


<© CO 
00 «o CO 

co «o «o 

W OS 



s g ,d • • » s s s s 



. j2£ 
^ Si? 

11 



2 >-. 



The winter of Upper Canada, although even not 
at present severe, is becoming milder every year, as 
cultivation extends. It is a great error to suppose 
that the great Lakes, Ontario, &c. are frozen over 



CLIMATE. 



205 



at any time : they are always open in the centre, 
frequently exhibiting a beautiful and striking phe- 
nomenon, during the inclement season. By reason 
of the water being warmer than the circumambient 
atmosphere, an evaporation resembling steam, may 
be observed ascending in every variety of shape, in 
clouds, columns and pyramids, with uncommon 
grandeur and magnificence, from the vast surfaces 
of Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, as if from so 
many boiling cauldrons. 

The chain of shallow lakes which run in an east 
and south-easterly direction from Lake Simcoe 
towards the midland district, are seldom frozen 
more than inch thick until about Christmas, and 
they are again open before April. 

The earth in Upper Canada is not generally frozen 
at a greater depth than from 12 to 18 inches, and 
the snow rarely lies at a greater depth than from 
18 inches to two feet, unless when drifted. It is 
very seldom that the roads are permanently fit 
for the use of the sleigh or carriole, before the 
second week in January, and they are again broken 
up by the end of March : this shows the duration 
of sharp frosts and snow : in fact a labouring man 
may, if he chuses, work at all times out of doors : 
whereas in Lower Canada, at the more northerly 
stations, it would be impossible so to do. 

There are several remarkable phenomena in the 
climate of Upper Canada, hitherto unaccounted for 
— one of these is termed — 

The Indian Summer, which almost uniformly 
commences and terminates in the month of Novem- 



206 



THE CAXADAS. 



ber, when the weather is delightfully mild and 
serene with a misty hazy atmosphere, though the 
haze is dry and soft, appearing to rest chiefly on 
the horizon. In the evenings of the Indian Summer, 
the sun generally goes down with a crimson flush 
on the western heavens : the temperature is ex- 
ceedingly grateful 5 and the feathered tribes, who, 
instinctively seek a southern region on the approach 
of the rigorous winter of the north, avail themselves 
of this delightful season to prosecute their journev. 
Accordingly at this time, the rivers and lakes of 
Upper Canada may be seen covered with innu- 
merable flocks of wild fowl. 

Another very extraordinary meteorological phe- 
nomenon is that which may be denominated the 
tertian intervals. The greatest intensity of frost is 
always remittent at the end of the third day, when 
several days of mild weather succeed thus the ex- 
treme severity of the winter is never felt more than 
two or three days at a time. 

Owing perhaps to the distance from the sea, and 
the absence of saline particles in the atmosphere, the 
climate is so dry, that metals rust but slightly by ex- 
posure, even on board vessels navigating lakes. 
Hence iron bolts are used in ship building, instead 
of copper. 

As the country becomes more settled and cleared, 
the winters are less rigorous and snowy, and agues 
and March fevers disappear. The people think, 
and observation justifies the popular opinion, that 
when the water rises to a great height, the season 
is unhealthy. In 1815, the waters of Lake Ontario, 



CLIMATE. 



20/ 



which had been annually rising, rose higher than 
they had done for thirty years, and the season was 
unhealthy. In several districts, particularly in Nia- 
gara, peaches and other fruits of a warm climate 
arrive at great perfection. The healthiness of the 
climate is indicated by the roses on the cheeks of 
the children of the peasantry ; and the general ap- 
pearance of the people is very different from the 
sallow leaden hue of the inhabitants of the United 
States, or indeed of the Lower Districts of Quebec. 



203 



THE CAXADAS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

POPULATION OF THE CANADAS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD, 
AND CLASSIFICATION OF IT BY DISTRICTS AND COUNTIES, 
ACCORDING TO THE LATEST CENSUS. 

Canada, as well as the other portions of the Ame- 
rican continent, was comparatively densely peopled 
by a dark race, termed Indians, when first discovered 
by Europeans ; and as colonisation extended, the 
coloured population was destroyed by the whites 5 
somewhat, I regret to say, after the manner that 
the Norway rat annihilated his less formidable com- 
peer. It does not, however, fall within the scope 
of this work to enter into abstract disquisitions, or 
to offer speculative opinions as to the origin of the 
Aborigines of the North American continent ;* 
suffice it here to observe, that the wars between the 
French and English in Canada, and the United States, 
hastened the destruction of the Aborigines ; a very 
few of whom still exist in the Lower Province, while 
their numbers are decreasing so fast that, in a com- 
paratively brief period, the far-famed Indian race 
will probably be extinct. 

* From a coincidence between the usages of the N. A. In- 
dians and Asiatic tribes, particularly the Tartars, it has been 
supposed that America was peopled from Asia ; but the affinity 
in language, religion, architecture, customs, &c. between the 
Mexicans and Polynesian nations, is really very remarkable. 



Tor Montgomery - Martin's Histoxy of Oie Bri 




I)iMifi/i<\i by John Mortimer : 2, 



ouies Vol.i . Possessions in N*? 1 America 




Drawn. & Engraved. Toy J. k C .Walter 



Street. CoLvaviish Square . 1836. 



POPULATION. 



209 



The earliest European census of Lower Canada 
rook place in 1622, when Quebec, then a small vil- 
lage, did not contain more than 50 persons. A gene- 
ral capitation took place in 1676, at which time there 
were S415 inhabitants. The rapid increase of late 
years, is evidently the effect of emigration from Europe. 

Several interesting particulars are given in the 
census of Lower Canada for 1S31 3 in the present 
case I give the following brief abstract : — 

Quebec District contains 13 counties, viz. Beauce, 
population, 11 900 ; area in square miles, 1007. 
Bellechasse, p. 13,5*29 ; sq. m. 1775. Dorchester, 
p. 11,946 ; sq. m. 348. Islet, p. 15,518 5 sq. m. 
3044. Kamouraska, p. 14,557 5 sq. m. 4320. Lot- 
biniere, p. 9151 5 sq. m. 735. Magantic, p. 22 S3 ; 
sq, m. 1465. Montmorenci, p. 3743 : sq. m. 7396. 
Orleans, p. 4349 5 sq. m. 69. Portneuf, p. 12,350 : 
sq. m. S640. Quebec, p. 36,173 ; sq. m. 14,240 , 
Rimouski, p. 10,061 ; sq. m. S840. Saguenay, p. 
S3S5 sq, m. 75,090. Total p. 151,985 ; sq. m. 
127,949. 

Montreal District contains 19 counties, as fol- 
lows : — Acadie, p. 11,419: sq. m. 250. Beauhar- 
nois, p. 16,S57 ; sq. m. 717. Berthier, p. 20,225 ; 
sq. m. 8410. Chambly, p. 15,4S3 ; sq. m. 211. 
La Chenaye, p. 9461 5 sq. m. 299. La Prairie, p. 
1S,497 ; sq. m. 238. L'Assomption, p. 12,767; 
sq. m. 500S. Missisqui, p. SS01 ; sq. m. 360. 
Montreal, p. 43,773 ; sq, m. 197'. Ottawa, p. 4786 
sq. m. 31,669. Richelieu, p. 16,149 ; sq. m. 373. 
Rouville, p. 1S,115; sq. m. 429. St. Hyacinthe, 
p. 15,366 5 sq. m. 477. Shefford, p. 56S7 5 sq. m. 

vol. 1. p 



210 



THE CAN ADAS. 



749. Terrebonne, p. 16,625; sq.m. 3169. Two 
Mountains, p. 20,905 ; sq. m. 1086. Yaudreuil, p. 
13,111; sq. m. 330. Vercheres, p. 12,319; sq. 
m. 198. Stanstead, p. 10,306 ; sq. m. 632. Total 
pop. 290,050 ; sq. m. 54,082. 

Three Rivers District contains six counties : — 
Champlain, p. 6991 ; sq. m. 783. Drummond, 
p. 3566 ; sq. m. 1674. Nicolet, p. 12,504 ; sq. m. 
487. St. Maurice, p. 16,909 ; sq. in. 9810. Sher- 
brooke, p. 7104 ; sq. m. 2786. Yamaska, p. 
9496 ; sq. m. 283. Total pop. 56,570 ; sq. m. 
15,823. 

The character of the Canadians partakes of the 
source whence they spring — if of French descent, 
levity and servility give place to easiness, or rather 
mildness of manner, combined with a manly but yet 
respectful freedom of deportment : the descendants 
of the English lose the rusticity and boorishness of 
their ancestors ; and with abundance of the neces- 
saries of life, and leisure for the improvement of their 
minds, the natural saturnine character of the British 
is relieved with a pleasing buoyancy of spirits, and 
enthusiasm of action. 

The offspring of the original French inhabitants, 
forming seven-eighths of the population, deserve a 
few special remarks as to their habits and manners. 
The mass of the people are proprietors of land to a 
greater or less extent ; and the equal division of pro- 
perty, on the demise of a parent, contributes to 
spread a large mass of floating industry and capital 
over the country. Thus possessed of the means of 
a comfortable existence, and freed from the dread 



POPULATION. 



211 



of future want, the Canadian enjoys a life of pleasing 
toil, and evinces by the lightsomeness of his heart, 
and the hospitality and sociability of his manners, 
the blessings derivable from an enjoyment, on no 
harsh terms, of the necessaries of life. 

The true Canadian, although fond of pleasure and 
social happiness, is rather a sedentary being, and of 
a staid, often sombre deportment 3 peculiarly at- 
tached to the locality which gave him birth 5 devoted 
to the religion in which he was educated, and sin- 
cere in his respect for those whom he considers 
his superiors. Although unlettered himself in the 
European sense of the term, the Canadian is ever 
ready to pay his tribute of respect to those who pos- 
sess mental endowments — the more so if literary at- 
tainments be accompanied by moral worth $ with a 
mind deeply imbued with early prejudices as to reli- 
gion, country, and institutions, yet charitable to a con- 
siderable extent towards the feelings (or what he may 
term, the failings) of others 3 polite, without affecta- 
tion ; generous, without parade 3 slow to offend 5 
quick to resent an insult, yet ready to forgive 5 warm, 
nay, enthusiastic in his friendship : in short, fulfilling 
with a sacred fidelity every social duty, which the 
obligations of society impose, the Canadian may, 
with all the faults and imperfections to which hu- 
man nature is liable, be justly esteemed one of the 
finest specimens of our race, and as offering a de- 
monstration how much the originally noble charac- 
ter of man is debased and depraved, by the poverty 
and starvation which crush to the earth, in misery 



212 



THE CAN ADAS. 



and vice, the greater part of the European com- 
munity. 

I should be guilty of an unpardonable omission, 
were I not to refer to the delightful characteristics 
which distinguish the fair sex among the Canadians. 
It is a common remark, that a man of sombre mind en- 
joys most keenly the society of those who are cast in a 
lighter mould : accordingly nature, following out her 
own arrangement, suits the softer sex to the other, 
which has indeed the shew of ruling, but in fact often 
submits to a pleasing despotism, and wears its silken 
fetters. It is thus with the Canadian ladies, who, 
though in appearance, only charming toys, are cap- 
able of wielding supreme controul over their sterner 
lords. The beauty of a Canadian is peculiar — 
neither English nor French, but combining the more 
exquisite elements of each : she possesses more of 
vivid emotions than ideas, and though deficient in 
the nervous intellect of the Scotch, she exhibits the 
ardour of the Italian, and the vivacious archness of 
the Parisian : the quick and varied impulses of her 
inward soul are mirrored in the piquant glance of 
her dark, expressive, and passionate eye, whose 
lambent fire is ever kindling into flame. 

Women are generally good judges of character, 
and severe scrutinizers of their own sex : I may 
add, therefore, on the testimony of a lady, I believe, 
(if I mistake not the style, and tone of sentiment of 
an anonymous correspondent), who has penetrated 
the mysteries of female society in Canada, that the 
Canadian fair sex are passionately fond of finery 



POPUL ATION. 



213 



and society ; that their wit is sparkling, and in con- 
stant exercise, more satirical than sarcastic, delight- 
ing rather than wounding, but withal remarkable 
for a kind of good -natured maliciousness. 

All who have visited the Canadas will agree with 
me in the remark, that society there is extremely 
agreeable, — freed from unnecessary forms, giving to 
life an air of delightful ease, and to private inter- 
course a charming tone and colouring. Those who 
have had the entree to the polished circles of France, 
and who have observed that talent finds a readier 
welcome there than titled inanity, may imagine what 
society is, even in the middle ranks of life, under the 
clear blue aether of Montreal."* 

As in all Roman Catholic countries (and I might 
add, in Hindoo and other Pagan lands) the enjoy- 
ments of the people are connected with their religious 
ceremonies 3 the forms, and I would hope the essen- 
tials of religion are fulfilled on the Sabbath morn 
the parish, or village chapel, is thronged with both 
sexes, clad in their best habiliments ; but the ser- 
vice over, and that part of their duty to the Creator 
fulfilled, it is considered equally a duty to devote 
the remainder of the day to festivity 5 the enjoy- 
ment of social happiness, being considered an essen- 
tial part of the weekly festival. Sunday afternoon 

* It is impossible to avoid observing that society is under- 
going a great change in England. A man is now beginning to 
be valued for what is in, rather than what is on, his head, 
and the speculative, and almost universally cultivated doctrine 
of phrenology has contributed, in no slight degree, to give to 
mental superiority its proper station in society. 



214 



THE CANADAS. 



is, in fact, a season of gaiety ■ the parish church col- 
lects together an assemblage of relatives and friends 
intent on rational enjoyment ; the old meet to con- 
verse on the state of the weather — the crops — the 
politics of the day ; the young habitans to meet their 
sweethearts — the chevalier, on his best pacer, or driv- 
ing his finest carriole — the lady, adorned in the most 
becoming style, palpitating with the hopes and fears 
of an approaching bridal day — the evening ending 
in cheerful feasts, to which dancing is frequently 
superadded. The Canadians, with all this, profess to 
be a pious people, and to set an extraordinary value 
upon the scrupulous performance of the rites of 
religion. 

The dress of the Habitan (French Canadian) is 
peculiar, as well as his manners 5 it consists of a 
gray cloth capot, or large coat reaching to the knee, 
bound round the middle with a sash of scarlet, or 
exhibiting various bright colours, and close buttoned 
to the neck : the head is surmounted by the bonnet 
bleu, or by a light straw hat in the heat of sum- 
mer, or a fur cap in the dead of winter 5 mocassins of 
sole leather complete the male peasant's usual dress. 
The female peasant's costume is similar to that 
worn in the south of France, — the mantelet, a jacket 
of dark, or a different coloured cloth, with a stuff pet- 
ticoat, mocassins and a head dress a la Francaise : 
on Sunday, of course, the habiliments are of more 
varied character, and where the English girl wears 
one colour, the Canadian will exhibit half a dozen 
of the brightest hues. 

Of the houses it may be sufficient to observe that 



POPULATION. 



215 



there is a great similarity between those of the 
farmers and peasantry in Normandy, and the people 
of a similar grade in Canada ; the story seldom 
more than one ; the building of wood, whitewashed, 
extremely clean within, and the chimney in the 
, centre of the buliding ; a partition between the 
kitchen and large apartment, where the inmates 
dwell 3 and the sleeping rooms at either end of the 
house, which is furnished w r ith beds in abundance, 
home made linen of excellent texture, every neces- 
sary variety of culinary utensils, and homely, strong, 
and often handsome furniture. 

Around the house is a garden laid out, without 
the formal regularity of an English horticulturist, 
but abounding in fruit and vegetables, the rearing of 
which devolves on the women of the family 5 whose 
taste is often displayed in the small patches of flow T ers 
which appear to grow wild, but really are raised for 
the purpose of enjoying that delicious luxury, which 
the rudest people seem to feel in viewing and scent- 
ing ' the lilies of the field.' The farm lies around 
the house ; and at a greater or less distance, the 
river or lake furnishes an ample supply of the finny 
tribe for a cuisine, always abundant, often luxurious : 
while the rich maple yields a large store of sugar, 
for the preservation of their luscious summer fruits, 
throughout a long and dreary winter. 

In fine, the people of Lower Canada possess a 
bold spirit of independence, and a polite dignity which 
makes the poorest peasant appear a gentleman ; in 
their behaviour to strangers, the cut of a coat, or style 



216 



THE CANADAS. 



of an equipage does not influence their demeanour ; 
a species of deference is paid to a superior, which 
neither debases the one, nor exalts the other 5 an 
inferior is not treated with rudeness because he is 
poor, for if they cannot relieve his poverty* they do 
not insult him : their bravery has been evinced on 
various occasions, in resisting the encroachments of 
the Americans, and in the cause of England 3 and 
may England never give so fine a race of people 
reason to repent of the confidence promptly and 
generously bestowed on the British nation. 

The Upper Canadians are a different people from 
the French habit ans of the Lower Province, the 
former being generally of British or American birth 
or descent. 

The earliest European settlers in Upper Canada, 
were some French families, who settled near the 
banks of the Detroit and on the St. Lawrence, 
previous to the British acquisition of the province ; 
after which period, the settlements of Europeans or of 
loyal inhabitants from the United States, began to 
be encouraged. 

In 1S06 the population was estimated at 70,718, 
in 1811 at 77,000 3 but the war with the United 
States tended much to check the prosperity, and 
with it the increase of population in the province. 

According to some returns before me, the number 
of males and females stood in the following years thus 
—1821, m. 65,792, f. 56,795— total 122,587 \ 1828, 
m. 99,465, f.89,093— t. 188,558; 1830, m. 151,081, 
f. 100,3S6— t. 251,467. 



POPULATION. 



217 



Happily, however, some more complete docu- 
ments than the foregoing are in my possession, 
which are the only returns furnished by the Colonial 
Office, to the statistical department of the Board of 
Trade. 



The Population of Upper Canada deduced from the Returns 
to the House of Assembly. 



DISTRICTS. 


1823. 


1827. 


1830. 


1833. 


Increase 
in 10 years. 


Eastern .. .. 


14879 


18368 


21168 


22286 


7407 


Ottawa 


2560 


3133 


4456 


6348 


3788 


Johnstown . . 


14741 


16719 


21961 


27058 


17317 


Bathurst .. .. 


10121 


12207- 


20212 


22286 


12065 


Midland .. .. 


27695 


30000 


36322 


42294 


14599 
1626S 


Newcastle 


9292 


12283 


16498 


25500 


Home . . 


16609 


21295 


32871 


4/650 


38853 


Gore 


13157 


15483 


23552 


31820 


18677 


Niagara 


17552 


19500 


21974 


24772 


7220 


London .. 


17539 


18912 


26180 


33225 


21374 

4836 


Western .. .. 


6952 


7956 


9970 


11788 


Total.. 


151097 


176059 


234865 


296544 


145447 



The increase of European, and European descended 
population, during the ten years previous to 1S33, 
was 145,447 : this is exclusive of the Indian popu- 
lation, whose numbers, though fast diminishing, 
amount, according to some estimates, to 28,000. 
Mr. McTaggart, the engineer, collected in 1828, 
the following data of the Indian population through- 
out North America : he does not state on what au- 
thority he gives these figures, and it is difficult to 
place reliance on the number he mentions, namely, 
upwards of two millions and a half. I give his 
statement without further comment than the ex- 
pression of a hope that it may be true, and that every 



218 



THE CANADAS. 



effort will be made by the Europeans, to preserve 
from further destruction, so fine a race as the North 
American Indians, of whom I regret my limits for- 
bid my giving a historical account. 

The following will shew the increase of male and 
female population separately at two periods, and 
the extent of land occupied and cultivated in 1832 : 

British Possessions. — Natives. — Lower Canada, 
1500, Upper Canada, 28,000, New Brunswick, 
12,000, Nova Scotia, 5000, Cape Breton, 4000, 
Prince Edwards Island, 3000, Newfoundland, 4000, 
Anticosti, 30, Labrador, 3650, North-west Terri- 
tory, 2S5,000, Hunting Ground of the Hudson's 
Bay Company, 654,000, Esquimaux Country, 84,000. 
Total, 1,097,680. 

Possessions of United States. — Natives, — Indiana, 
124,000, Louisiana, 186,000, District of Colombia, 
226,000, Michigan Territory, 23,000, Missouri Ter- 
ritory, 54,000, Mississippi Territory, 21,000, North- 
west Territory, 62,000, Illinois Territory, 5000, 
in the other 18 States, 815,000 Total, 1,516,000.* 

* Some of the land in Upper Canada has been purchased 
by the British Government from the Indians, who receive their 
payments annually in clothing, ammunition, &c, and such 
articles as 'they require. Some of the recent purchases were, 
in October 1818. Lake Huron, 1,592,000 acres, at 1,200/. 
per annum ; the Mississagua 648,000 acres, at 522/. per an- 
num. In November same year, the Rice Lake of 1,861,200 
acres, at 740/. per annum; in April, 1819, the Long Wood of 
552,190 acres, at 6001. per annum; in February, 1820, the 
Mohawk purchase of 27,000 acres at 450/. per annum ; being 
4,680,390 acres, at an annual charge of 3,512/., which is de- 
frayed by an appropriation of part of the amount received for 
fees on the grants of land to emigrants. 



POPULATION. 



219 



III 



li 



II 



iimiiiii! 



HSHiSIffl 



mm® i 



PllPilHI I 



piiiiiiiii 



Pslilllltl 



Plillsllll 



PHIIIllES 



PUPIlIP 



lllilllilil 



8 



II 
l_l 

tj 
1 I 



I 



Illllil 



I 



220 



THE CANADAS. 



In consequence of the increasing interest felt in 
England regarding everything relating to the Ca- 
nadas, and especially the upper province, where so 
many persons have now near relatives and friends, 
and also on account of the field for emigration 
which those colonies present, I think a more de- 
tailed view of the statistics, &c. of each district or 
country will be acceptable to my readers. I begin, 
therefore, with the eastern district, which lies along 
the St. Lawrence, as the traveller proceeds from 
Montreal towards Lake Ontario. The following re- 
turn regarding the district in question, was printed 
by the House of Assembly in 1833. 

The Eastern district is formed into three counties, 
and these again are subdivided into 12 townships ■ 
viz. in Glengarry County: — Lancaster, pop. 2230, 
amount of property rateable, 2 8,74 9 /. 3 Charlotten- 
burgh, p. 45763 prop. 58,619. Kenyon, p. 1573 3 
prop. 14,645/. Lochiel, p. 2152 3 prop. 26,129. — 
Total p. 10,531 3 prop. 128,132/. Stormont County : 
— Cornwall Town, p. 1047 3 Ditto Township and 
Roxborough, p. 3539 3 prop. 60,925/. Finch, p. 
413 3 prop. 4169/. Osnabruck, p. 2313 3 prop. 
30,868/.— Total pop. 7312 3 prop. 95,962/. Dundas 
County : — Williamsburgh, p. 1586 3 prop. 25,887/. 
Matilda, p. 1448 3 prop. 17,237/. Mountain, p. 707 3 
prop. 6708/. Winchester, p. 181 3 prop. 1345/. 
Total pop. 3922 3 prop. 51,177/- The district com- 
mences at the boundary lines separating Upper and 
Lower Canada, and runs along the St. Lawrence, 
with part of Lake St. Francis (an expansion of the 



POPULATION. 



221 



St. Lawrence), and the Long Sault rapid * in front, 
until it reaches the adjoining district of Johnstown 5 
inland it is bounded by the Ottawa district. A 
range of elevated table land commences at Lochiel 
and runs diagonally to the township of Matilda, 
whence it passes into the adjoining district. 

The soil is rich and well-watered, cultivated and 
fertile 3 some of it has been granted to discharged 
soldiers, a good deal to the children of New England 
loyalists, and the Canada Company possesses some 
lots in it. 

* While this sheet was going to press, I received informa- 
tion from Canada, that the Americans contemplate an im- 
provement, on their own side of the river, of the navigation of 
St. Lawrence past these rapids. The following is the commu- 
nication alluded to, and it contains proof of the ever active 
mind of our neighbours : — u The Grass River is now navigable 
by steam-boats, from where it empties into St. Lawrence to 
within about three miles of the village of Massena. From 
this point, on the Grass River, there is a deep ravine of low 
land to within about half a mile of the head of the Long Sault 
Rapids ; this half mile would require a deep cut, through a 
clay bank, of perhaps 30 or 40 feet, and probably not more 
than two locks would be required on the entire route, which 
is only about five miles from the St. Lawrence to the Grass 
River. The St. Lawrence is already navigated by a steam- 
boat, on the Canada side, several miles below the point where 
this proposed canal will enter the St. Lawrence ; and the legis- 
lature of Upper Canada made an appropriation last winter, for 
a canal round the Long Sault Rapids, which will probably cost 
ten times as much as the one now alluded to. This improve- 
ment would bring the entire carrying trade of the St. Law- 
rence through this channel, and extend facilities to the 
American side which can never be enjoyed by our Canada 
neighbours." 



222 



THE CANADAS. 



The district in the rear of the one just described, 
and bordering on the south shore of the Ottawa, 
from the Rideau River to the St. Lawrence, is 
termed the Ottawa district 5 its statistics are as 
follow : — 

Prescott County : — Hawkesbury, E. pop. 833 ; 
(no returns of rateable property in the Ottawa dis- 
trict.) Hawkesbury, W. pop. 1440. Longueil, 
855. Alfred, 112. Caledonia, 311, Plantagenet, 
613 : — Total, 4164. Russell County : — Clarence, 
pop. 125. Cumberland, 1161. Gloucester, 653. 
Osgoode, 198. Cambridge, (no return.) Russell, 37. 
Total, 1129. 

The returns for the Ottawa are not complete ; it 
is, however, but thinly settled ; the lands are good, 
but low and marshy ; along the Rideau Canal cul- 
tivation is progressing, and as civilization increases, 
those very lands which are now considered useless, 
marshy soils, will become the most fertile sections 
of the country. 

The district which follows in the official docu- 
ments is Johnstown, which lies along the St. Law- 
rence to the westward of the Ottawa and Eastern 
districts, and through the centre of which the 
Rideau canal passes. 

The only returns I have been able to obtain are 
as follow : — 

Leeds County: — Burgess, pop. 304, Grosby, N. 
185. Ritley, 1071. Yonge, 2894. Leeds and 
Lansdowne rear, 842. Elizabeths Town, 4350. 
Bastard, 1825. Grosby, S. 554. Leeds and Lans- 
down Front, 1025. Elmsley, 10/0,— Total, 14,120. 



POPULATION. 



223 



Grenville County : — Oxford, 1292. Edwardsburgh, 
1584. Wolford, 1121. Gower, S. 646. Mon- 
tague, 755. Gower, N. 245. Marlborough, 445. 
Augusta, 4091.— Total, 10,179. The total of rate- 
able property for the two Counties, amounts to 
281,090/. 5 Assessments, 1171/. 

The soil in Johnstown is generally good, and it is 
advantageously situated. The district on the north, 
bounded by the River Ottawa, is called Bathurst, an 
idea of whose progress may be formed from the 
following table : — 

Carleton County: — Nepean,p. 2810; prop. 20,031/. 
Goulburn, p. 1913 5 prop. 17,9272. March, p. 426 5 
prop. 61152. Torbolton,p. 96 5 prop. 1562/. Fitz- 
roy, p. 327i prop. 6413/. M'Nab, p. 318 5 prop. 
2751. Huntley, p. 1031 5 prop. 9252/. Pakenham, 
p. 408 5 prop. 3880/. Total, 7329 5 prop. 67,931/. 
Lanark County: — Beckwith, p. 2217 5 prop. 18,387/. 
Drummond, p. 24f2 5 prop. 25,135/. Bathurst, p. 
2019 5 prop. 19,476/. Sherbrooke,N.,p.262; prop. 
2342/. Ditto, S., p. 98 5 prop. 1179/. Dalhousie, 
p. IOI95 P ro P« 11,661/. Lanark, p. 1845 5 prop. 
16,676/. Ramsay, p. 17755 prop. 16,470/. Total 
pop. 11,7075 prop. 111,326/. 

The townships on the Ottawa, N. W. of Bathurst 
district, are in great demand : lumberers now go 150 
miles beyond Lake Chat 5 and as the Ottawa has few 
rapids to the northward, towards its junction with 
Lake Nipissing, we may command a shorter com- 
munication between Montreal and Georgiana Bay, 
and Lake Huron, than we now have through Lakes 
Ontario, Erie, and the Detroit, with the great 



224 



THE C ANA DAS. 



additional advantage of its being beyond reach of the 
threats of the American Government. A great part 
of this district is colonized by Highland and Lowland 
Scotchmen, whose prudent, thrifty habits admirably 
qualify them for emigrants. 

The next division, as we proceed westward, is the 
long and extensive tract called the Midland District, 
whose base or southern extremity rests on the St. 
Lawrence and Lake Ontario, in the parallel of 44° 
south Latitude, w 7 hile its northern boundary extends 
to 46.30, and is terminated on the N. E. by the Ot- 
tawa river. Its population, property, cultivated land 
and stock are as follow : — 

Frontenac County : — Kingston Town, pop. 4196 ; 
prop. 72,8772- Ditto, Township, p. 3013 : prop. 
3S,661Z. Pittsburgh, p. 987; prop. 11,643Z. Lough- 
borough, p. 1112 j prop. 13391Z. Portland, p. 484 ; 
prop. 6325Z. Wolf Island, p. 611 ; prop. 5533Z. 
Total, p. 10,403 5 prop. 148,430Z. Lennox and Ad- 
dington Counties : — Ernestown, p. 3763 ; prop. 
60,582Z. Fredericksburgh, p. 2556 5 prop. 38,90lZ. 
Adolphus Town, p. 666 5 prop. 13,337Z. Richmond, 
p. 1367 3 prop. 18,326. Camden, p. 1780; prop. 
20,626Z. Sheffield, p. 89 5 prop. H76Z. Amherst 
Island, p. 512 5 prop. 5569Z. Total, p. 10,733 ; 
prop. 15S,517 Ze Prince Edward's County : — Marys- 
burgh, p. 1674 ; prop. 23702Z. Hallowell, p. 3525 3 
prop.57,405Z. Sophiasburgh,p.2137j prop. 36,588Z. 
Hillier, p. 1733 5 prop. 27,698Z. Ameliasburgh, p. 
1722 ; prop. 24,079Z. Total, pop. 10,791 prop. 
169,472. Hastings County Sidney, p. 2237 5 prop. 
33,4 19Z. Thurlow, p. 1511 5 prop. 43,867Z. Raw- 



POPULATION. 



225 



don, p. 409 3 prop. 46691. Marmora, p. 205 3 prop. 
3823Z. Huntingdon, p. 27 1 3 prop. 3000Z. Madoc, p. 
205 3 prop. 1984Z. Tyendinaga, p. 692 3 prop. 7806Z. 
Hungerford, (no ret.) Total, p. 5530 3 prop. 98,568L 

The five districts now detailed may be considered 
as forming the eastern section of the province, and 
present generally a moderately elevated table land, 
declining towards its numerous water courses 3 the 
timber of the forests is large and lofty, and of every 
variety. The soil, though moist and marshy in 
many places, is extremely rich 3 consisting chiefly of 
a brown clay and yellow loam, admirably adapted 
to the growth of wheat and every species of grain : 
the rivers and lakes are extremely numerous 3 of the 
former may be mentioned as the most remarkable — 
the Rideau, Petite Nation, Mississippi and Mada- 
waska, which have their sources far in the interior, 
generally to the westward, and which fall into the 
Ottawa : the Gannanoqui, Raisin, Cataraqui, Napa- 
nee, Salmon, Moira, and part of the Trent discharge 
themselves into the Bay of Quinte and the St. Law- 
rence : these streams, besides fertilizing the lands 
through which they flow, afford, many of them, con 
venient inland communications, and turn numerous 
grist, carding, fulling and saw mills. 

Besides numerous lesser lakes, there are the Ri- 
deau, Gannanoqui, White, (Henderson's) Mud, Devil, 
Indian, Clear, Irish, Loughborough, Mississippi, 
Olden, Clarendon, Barrie, Stoke, Marmora, Collins, 
Blunder, Angus, and Ossinicon, There are many 
roads throughout the section 3 the principal one is 
along the St. Lawrence, between Montreal and King 

VOL , I. Q 



226 



THE CAN ADAS. 



ston, traversing Cornwall and Lancaster, through 
which a line of stage coaches run between the two 
provinces, every lawful day, when steam-boats cannot 
travel. Kingston, the maritime capital of Upper 
Canada, has to the westward, the fine Quinte tract, 
in a prosperous state of cultivation. 

By-town, in Nepean, on the south bank of the 
Ottawa, is most picturesquely situate 5 as is also 
Kinnel Lodge, the romantic residence of the High- 
land chieftain, M f Nab, on the broad, bold, and abrupt 
shore of the Lake of Chats. Perth is a thriving vil- 
lage in the township of Drummond, on a branch of 
the Rideau, occupying a central position between the 
Ottawa and St. Lawrence. There are several other 
rising settlements, which it would be impossible for 
me to enumerate. 

The central section of Upper Canada embraces the 
large districts of Newcastle and Home— with a 
frontage of 120 miles along Lake Ontario, in 44.30 
Lat. and stretching back northerly to the Ottawa, 
Nipissing Lake, and French River in 46.30 north 
Latitude. The division and statistics of Newcastle 
are thus — 

Northumberland County : — Hamilton, p. 2871 
prop. 57,3372. Haldimand, p. 1857 5 prop. 31,06~Z. 
Cramaghe, p. 1905; prop, 25,125Z. Murray, p. 
1738 5 prop. 20,944Z. Percy, p. 377 5 prop. 5349Z. 
Asphodel, p. 265 5 prop. 3410Z. Otonabee, p. 862 3 
11681Z. Douro, p. 571 5 prop. 5328Z. Smith, p. 
753^ prop. 8099Z. Ennismore, p. 254 ; prop. 
1772Z. Monaghan, p. 850 3 prop. 10, 114 Z. Dur- 
ham County : — Hope, p. 2272 5 prop. 24,719Z. 



POPULATION. 227 

Clarke, p. 919 3 prop. 10,761/. Darlington, p. 
109S; prop. 13,741/. Mariposa, p. 208 5 prop. 
1941/. Eldon, p. 406 3 prop. 2965/. Ops, p. 545 3 
prop. 5126/. Emily, p. 1095 3 prop. 7704/. Cavan, 
p. 2173 3 prop. 20,769/. Total, p. 87163 prop. 
97,726/. 

The soil throughout this large district is generally 
good 3 and though the population is large, compared 
with other districts, there is yet abundance of room 
for more settlers. It is well watered by the Rice, 
Balsam, Trout, and other lakes, and by the Otana- 
bee rivers, part of the Trent, &c. The extensive 
territory adjoining Newcastle, with its N. W. extre- 
mity resting on Georgiana Bay (an inlet of Lake 
Huron) is termed the Home District : it contains 
the capital of Upper Canada, Toronto (late York), 
and its statistics are as follow for 1834 as regards 
the population, and for 1832, in reference to the other 
parts. 

York County. 1st Riding: — City of Toronto, p. 
9174 3 prop. 95,62S/. Township of York, p. 3544 5 
prop 51,879/. Vaughan, p. 2861 3 prop. 27,7S7/. 
King, p. 1672; prop. 13,904/. Etobicoke, p. 1290 3 
prop. 17,023/. Total pop. 1S,541 3 prop. 206,221/. 
2d Riding : — Township of Toronto, p. 4990, To- 
ronto Gore, p. 4S3 3 rateable property in the two 
latter Townships, 50,257/. Chinguacousy, p. 27283 
prop. 22,562/. Caledon, p. 1233 3 prop. 9483. 
Albion, p. 1050 3 prop. 9587/. Total pop. 9624 3 
prop. 91,889/. Sd Riding :— Markham, p. 4436, 
prop. 54,572/. Whitby, p. 3212 3 prop. 27,131/. 
Scarborough, p. 1897 3 prop. 18,120/. Pickering, p. 



228 



THE CAN AD AS. 



1807 5 prop. 20,858. Total, pop. 11,353 5 P ro P- 
120,6812. 4th Riding: — Whitchurch, p. 2732 5 prop. 
29,3292. Uxbridge Reach (no returns). East Guil- 
limbury, p. 13S9 5 prop. 18,8872. N. Guillimbury, 
p. 467 5 prop. 4097^. Brock, p. 1032 5 prop. 75282. 
Georgina, p. 855 5 prop. 3540/. Scott (no returns.) 
Total pop : 8207 5 prop. 63,3812. Simcoe County :— 
Tecornseh, p. 1389 5 prop. 99452. W. Guillimbury, 
p. 12935 prop. 13,3942. Mono, p. 1208 5 prop. 3021. 
Oro, p. 8S1 5 prop. 19242. Adjala, p. 787 ; prop. 
40032. Medante, p. 4485 prop. 4792. Thorah, 
p. 431 5 prop. 38602. Innisfil, p. 406 5 prop. 5962. 
Tiny and Tay, p. 401 5 prop. 31102. Vespra, p. 
2365 prop. 1912. Essa, p. 167- Flos, p. 90 5 
prop. 407. Total pop. 77375 prop. 42,6512. 

The central section of Upper Canada does not fall 
short in fertility, either of the east or west portions 
of the province : it is well watered, the Nottawa- 
saga, Holland, Musketchsebe, Beaver, Talbot, and 
Black Rivers fall into Lake Simcoe 5 the Credit, 
Etobicoke, Humber, and Don Rivers flow into Lake 
Ontario. There are excellent roads throughout the 
section 5 a canal is projected through the Home 
District, to connect Lakes Huron and Ontario. To- 
ronto, the capital, is rapidly improving : in 1833 
its population was — 

Males above 16, 2,597- — Females above 16, 2,155. 
Males under do. 1,404. — Females under do. 1,317. 



4,001. 3,472. 
In the suburbs — Macauley town, 558 — from Os- 
goodehall, where Macauley town ends, to Fan's 



POPULATION. 



229 



brewery. Lot-street, 400 5 from the eastward of 
Kingstreet to the Don Bridge, taking in all about 
the Windmill, 300, making a grand total of 8,731. 

The next section of the province is termed the 
Western 3 it embraces the Gore, Niagara, London 
and Western Districts, and, circumscribed as it is by 
the waters of the great Lakes Ontario, Erie, and 
Huron, it may be considered a vast equilateral, tri- 
angular peninsula, with its base extending from Fort 
Erie to Cape Hurd, on Lake Huron, measuring 216 
miles, and a perpendicular striking the Detroit river at 
Amherstburgh, of about 195 miles in length 3 with an 
almost uniformly level, or slightly undulating sur- 
face, except a few solitary eminences, and a ridge of 
slightly elevated table land in the Gore and Niagara 
districts, averaging 100 feet, and at some points 
approaching to 3 50 feet in height. The whole tract 
is alluvial in its formation, consisting chiefly of a 
stratum of black and sometimes of yellow loam, 
above which is found, when in a state of nature, a 
rich and deep vegetable mould. The substratum is 
a tenacious grey or blue clay, sometimes appearing 
at the surface, intermixed with sand. Throughout 
the country, there is an almost total absence of 
stones or gravel, within the greatest arable depth, 
but numerous and extensive quarries exist, which 
furnish abundant supplies for building, &c. The 
forests are remarkable for the steady growth and 
the rich foliage of their trees : in several places 
immense prairies or natural meadows exist 3 extend- 
ing for hundreds of miles, and with the vista delight- 
fully relieved by occasional clumps of oak, white 



230 



THE CANADAS. 



pine, and poplar, as if planted by man with a view 
to ornament. With a delicious climate stretching 
from 42 to 44 north Latitude, it is not to be wonder- 
ed at that this section is the finest in Upper Canada. 
The statistics of the first, pursuing our route as 
before from east to west, are as follow : 

Hatton County : — Flamborough, W. p. 1398 j 
prop. 23,486/. Dumfries, p. 2936 5 prop. 42,5147. 
Nelson, p. 1 809 ; prop. 23,250/. Waterloo, p. 2320; 
prop. 44,395/. Esquesing, p. 1700 ; prop. 21,915/. 
Beverly, p. 1050 ; prop. 13,036/. Flamborough, 
E. p. 712 ; prop. 10,056/. Grand River, p. 1967 5 
prop. 29,277/. Erin, p. 611 5 prop. 6042/. Nichol, 
p. 134; prop. 5267/. Nasagiweya, p. 484 ; prop. 
4926/, Trafalgar, p. 2730 ; prop. 33,523/. Era- 
mosa, p. 421 ; prop. 5355/. Wilmot, p. 645 ; prop. 
8681. Woolwich, p. 439 ; prop. 14,704/. Guelph, 
p. 1068; prop. 9633. Total pop. 20,424 J prop. 
296,060/. Wentworth County - Ancaster, p. 2267 5 
prop. 54,493/. Salt Fleet, p. 1769 5 prop. 19,914/. 
Glanford, p. 653 5 prop. 9425/. Barton, p. 1776; 
prop. 28,520Z. Binbrook, p. 335 ; prop. 3851/. 
Total pop. 6800; prop. 116,203/. 

The district to the southward of Gore, and termed 
Niagara, from being bounded to the east by the 
river and cataract of that name, is one of the finest 
and richest tracts in the world, and most eligibly 
situate in a bight, as it were, between the magnifi- 
cent sheets of water, Erie and Ontario : its statistics 
are as follow : 

Lincoln County. — Niagara Town, p. 1406 ; prop. 
31,445/. Ditto Township, p. 1717 5 prop. 32,079/. 



POPULATION. 



23 



Thorold, p. 2052 5 prop. 26,420Z. Grimsby, p. 
1614 5 prop. 25,914Z. Clinton, p. 1572 3 prop. 
28,571Z. Bertie, 2159 3 prop. 31,836Z. Stam- 
ford, p. 1493 3 prop. 30,568Z. Grantham, p. 2454 3 
prop.38,240Z. Gainsborough, p. 1252 3 prop. 18,068Z. 
Louth, p. 1157 3 prop. 18,287 Z. Pelham, p. 1106 3 
prop. 19,433Z. Crowland, p. 841 3 prop. 13,165Z. 
Willoughby, p. 569 3 prop. 11,852Z. Humberstone, 
p. 1554 3 prop. 13,012Z. Wainfleet, p. 842 3 prop. 
11,516Z. Gainsborough, p. 292 3 prop. 6643Z. 
Claistor, p. 329 3 prop. 4385Z. Total, p. 22,412 5 
prop. 361,434Z. Haldimand County. — Rainham, p. 
340 3 prop. 6119. Walpole, p. 480 3 prop. 5347Z. 
Haldimand, p. 421 3 prop. 6152Z. Moulton, p. 
5283 prop.4619Z. Total, pop. 24, 1 81 3 prop.22,237Z. 

It will be perceived from the foregoing, that in 
this comparatively small district, the quantity of 
land in cultivation, and amount of rateable property, 
are very large in proportion to what may be ob- 
served in the other districts 3 there is still however 
a large quantity of uncultivated land in Niagara. 

The scenery throughout this part of Canada is 
extremely picturesque. Fort George, or Niagara, 
is the sea port (if it may be so called) of the dis- 
trict 3 — the fort is strong, and the neat town all 
bustle and gaiety, owing to the frequent arrival and 
departure of steam boats, sloops and other vessels. 

I now shew the population and extent of the large 
territory termed the London District : — 

Norfolk County ; — Charlotteville, p. 1460 3 prop. 
22,016Z. Windham, p. 930 3 prop. 10,833. Mid- 
dleton, p. 361 3 Houghton, p. 141 3 prop, of the 



232 



THE CAXADAS. 



two latter, 5563 Z. Walsingham, p. 790 5 prop. 9245/. 
Townshend, p. 1847 5 prop. 25,813Z. Woodhouse, 
p. 1298 5 prop. 19,427Z. Total, p. 6827 ; prop. 
92,897Z. Oxford County .-—Oakland, p. 490 5 prop. 
5692Z. Nissouri, p. 725 5 prop. 7431 Z. Norwich, 
p. 1977 ; prop. 21,493Z. Zorra, p. 1801 ; prop. 
9780Z. Blenheim, p. 916 5 prop. 8365Z. Blandford, 
p. 214 5 prop. 845Z. Oxford, East, p. 568 ; prop. 
441 1Z. Dereham, N. p. 193 ; Dereham, S. p. 143 ; 
property in the two latter, 27 5 /Z. Burford, p. 1302 ; 
prop. 14,864Z. Oxford, W. p. 1141 3 prop. 13,714Z. 
Total, p. 9470 ; prop. 89,352Z. Middlesex County: 
— Malahide, p. 1948 3 prop. 21,1 13Z. Delaware, p. 
212 ; prop. 2060Z. Ekfrid, p. 406 5 prop. 3038Z. 
Williams, p. 251 5 prop. 379Z. Westminster, p. 357 $ 
prop. 18,583Z. Lobo, p. 684 3 prop. 5789Z. Bay- 
ham, 1871 ; prop. 20,866Z. Dorchester, p. 1576 ; 
prop. — . Mosa, p. 690 5 prop. 5545 Z. Aldborough, 
p. 637 5 prop. 5433Z. Caradoc, p. 550 5 prop. 3824Z. 
Goderich,p. 874. Southwold, p. 2404 3 prop.26,704Z. 
London, 4152 j prop. 34,325Z. Yarmouth, 2676 ; 
prop. 25,524Z. Dunwich, p. 564 5 prop. 11,417Z. 
Biddulph, part of, p. 70. Adelaide, part of, p. 7 18. 
Total pop. 20,616 5 prop. 184,600Z. 

This immense district has the advantage of a great 
extent of water frontier, along the shores of Lakes 
Erie and Huron, besides a large portion of the 
Thames, and the river Ouse on Lake Erie, and Aux 
Sables and Maitland on Lake Huron. London, 
though at present small, is in the heart of a fertile 
country, on the banks of the fine river Thames, and 
will no doubt rapidly increase 5 — who can say but 



POPULATION. 



233 



that at some distant (may it be far distant) day, 
the modern Babylon may be reduced to a heap of 
ruins, and its celebrity and fame be revived across 
the Western Atlantic. 

About the central part of the north coast of Lake 
Erie, the eccentric, but honest and philanthropic 
Colonel Talbot has founded a settlement which re- 
flects credit on his head and heart. Ever since the 
year 1802, this benevolent man has persevered in 
opening the fine country around him to the English 
emigrant. The Upper Canada Company have their 
land in this district. The scenery around which, on 
the river Maitland, is more English -like than that 
of any other in America. 

Extensive roads are now making in every direc- 
tion, and the London district offers a most eligible 
spot for the consideration of the intending settler. 

Western District Census. — Townships Sandwich, 
males 1176, females 1072. Maiden, m. 685, f. 666. 
Colchester, m. 351, f. 316. Gosfield, m. 441, f. 
350. Mersea, m. 179, f. 170. Maidstone and Ro- 
chester, m. 178, f. 148. Tilbury and Romney, m. 
231, f. 161. Raleigh, m. 350, f. 341. Harwich, 
m. 287, f. 175. Howard, m. 444, f. 408. Oxford, 
m, 189, f. 163. Camden, m. 98, f. 71. Dacon, m. 
163, f. 127. Zone, m. 154, f. 101. Chatham, m. 
143, f. 143. Dover, m. 357, f. 318. Sombra, m. 
165, f. 139. Walpole Isle, m. 38, f. 37. Moore, 
m. 76, f. 82. Total of inhabitants, 10,687. The 
total amount of rateable property, is 134,874Z. 

In addition to the foregoing, I have a return of 
the population of each parish in Upper Canada, to 



234 



THE CANADAS. 



each of which there is a clergyman, whose fixed 
salary averages on the maximum 209Z. and mini- 
mum 100Z. 3 Eastern district. — Cornwall, 3900 ; 
Matilda, 1801 ; Osnabruck, 2468 3 Williamsburgh, 
2003. Bathurst ditto.— Perth, 2442 3 Beckwith, 
2256 3 Richmond, 1376 3 March, 1604 3 Goulburn, 
unknown. Johnstown ditto. — Brockville, 4195 5 
Prescott, 3087 3 Yonge, &c. 2392 3 Oxford, 1052. 
Midland ditto,— Kingston and township,6937 3 Bath, 
Ernestown, &c. 3470 3 Adolphus Town, 617 3 Hal- 
lo well, 3313 5 Belleville, 2676 3 Murray, 1314. 
Newcastle ditto. — Coburg, 2420 3 Port Hope, 1757 ; 
Cavan, 1777 3 Peterborough, 652. Home ditto. — 
York and township, 8750 3 Toronto, 2752 3 Mark- 
ham, 3411 3 Vaughan, 1724. Gore ditto. — Ancaster 
and Barton, 2027 3 Hamilton and Dundas, 1597 ; 
Brantford and Indians, 2756 3 Grand River, 987 3 
Guelph, 821. Niagara ditto. — Niagara, 2890 5 
Chippawa, Stamford, and Queenstown, 1532 3 
Grimsby, 1398 3 St. Catherine s, 2770 3 Fort Erie, 
2082. London ditto.— St. Thomas, 1900 3 Wood- 
house, 1067 3 London, 3360 3 Adelaide, 457 l Ca- 
radoc, unknown. Western ditto. — Amherstburg, 
1228 3 Sandwich, 2213 3 Chatham, 249. 

The foregoing detail will afford a more complete 
and accurate view of the progressive state of the 
colony, than pages of descriptive writing 3 the reader 
will perceive the increase of population in each dis- 
trict for a series of years, then its actual amount at 
present — the quantity of land cultivated and occu- 
pied by that population, the stock on the land, and 
the value of the property sunk in it. 



POPULATION. 



23c 



* SHOSSlSA^ 9.IT1S139^{J 


k«5 « >-< n co >h a ■<# 

CO h m 0)K7) ^ * t) 


06 


•029 ( s3i3 'suo^m 


CO©Ol Nfl'SfflCHH 
—1 CO -<j< 10 w X 




•S3snoq9io;s 


<J«J — 1 ~ CO 


OS 


•sdoqs s^aBqojaj^ 


t>.-ixw^j<WT?<OiXoco 


X 


a 




anoN-HjioNooia 




<o 


[ills, & 


'S3U0;S JO 

ired -[^aopippv 




to 

10 




Aq ;qSnoi i w 


XCO"<*C0Crs-<C0t>.© 


Oi 




•sasnoq jo ve;o£ 


cc x o u- ~ w — r-. ' ~ 
co co :m ~ W X "N — ■ — - o 

1-^ l-H CO ft««H 


c 




•saoBjd-ajg 
psnotitppv 


1— 1 10 CO >0 p- ' "3" 


CO 
CO 




•sailors z *9U0}s 

JO '^OUq 


tO « Cl « N « O C X h 


CO 
CO 


!anat 


•S90B-[d-9I^ 

renopjppv 


f) h X N N (N iO ts 

■h w no 


05 

CN 


;es in Upper C 


•X103S 1 
'3uo;s 10 ^opg 


hhoon co »o tjj 


X 

CO 


's90Btd-9jg 

reaor^ippv 


»o t>» 00 o> o> t>. ©> r->. — * 

rf 1-1 m CO O A^. X -# CO 


CO* 


3 



•sauo^s z 
jgpun 9UTBJJ 


x us t>. Ttoiomma-o 

CO ^ O; O U ^1 C 'C M 


X 




•s9iio;s z 


CO CO i« —1 r-, Oi OiO «0 
— . CO h aKX CM 
CO 


IO 

»o 




'sgo^d-gig 
reaoi}rppv 


CO CO"0 00<OtJ<~<©C&©*0 


CO 
IQ 




•ajo;s 1 
'igqrai} gxenbs 


iflOHOOOCOONOX 
iO CO CO ^< CO iQ ph rj» 


CO 


DISTRICTS. 


Eastern 

Ottawa 

Johnstown 

Bathurst 

Midland .. 

Newcastle 

Home 

Gore 

Niagara .. 
London 
Western .. .. 


e 



236 



THE C A NAD AS. 



I have given, in order to render the view com- 
plete, the preceding table of the number and de- 
scription of the houses occupied in each district, 
the sort of houses (indicating comparative stages 
of wealth), and even the additional fire-places, which 
luxury or convenience may require ; also the num- 
ber of merchants' warehouses and stores, the num- 
ber of different kinds of mills, and the vehicles kept 
for pleasure. Let those who peruse these facts re- 
member that, the comforts and wealth thus pro- 
duced within a few short years, arise from the united 
labours of Englishmen, Irishmen and Scotchmen, 
who have transplanted all the virtues of their proge- 
nitors to the forests of America, and left behind them 
most of the vices which disgrace their native land. 

In concluding this section, I shall only add that 
all who have visited Upper Canada unite in their 
commendations of the hospitality, frankness, and 
industry of the farmers, and the urbanity and gentle- 
manly demeanour of the upper classes, whose num- 
bers are by no means so few as might at first be 
supposed. 



CHAPTER V. 



ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS, &C. STAPLE PRODUCTS 

OF THE CANADAS. 

The New World, when discovered,, was found to 
possess few animals, and those neither large nor 
dangerous to man. Some are peculiar to the Ame- 
rican Continent, but it is probable that many species 
have become utterly extinct. I may advert briefly 
to a few, which however a few years more of ex- 
tended colonization and civilization will utterly 
extirpate. 

The Moose Deer is the largest wild quadruped of 
the continent — being in height seven feet, (exceed- 
ing a tall English horse) and weighing from 10 to 
12 cwt. : the large palmated horns, the immense 
downcast head, a short neck and thick body, give it 
a savage aspect j but the animal is timid and inof- 
fensive, even when attacked by the hunter. The 
upper lip, called the mouffle, is very large, broad and 
pendant, and the hoofs sharper and more stiff than 
those of the rein-deer, somewhat resembling the 
camel's 5 its nostrils are very wide, the upper jaw is 
without teeth, and the legs are so long, and the 
neck so short, that the animal cannot graze, but 
browses on the leaves and young shoots of trees. 
The male is larger than the female, the latter with- 



238 



THE CANADA S. 



out horns, and with shorter and lighter coloured 
grey hair, mixed with reddish — going eight months 
with young, and bringing forth from one to three 
at a birth. The moose, like the sheep, is easily do- 
mesticated — it is not gregarious like the other species 
of deer, but generally the male, the female, and one 
or two fawns accompany each other : the flesh is 
exceedingly delicate and nutricious, and the skin 
valuable for its softness. 

There are a great variety of common deer, but 
the elk is now rarely met with. 

The Cariboo is distinguished from the moose by 
having brow antlers, which are rounder than the 
horns of the latter, and meet near the extremities. 
It is not so tall as the moose, and is of such ama- 
zing swiftness as to be with difficulty caught. 

The American Elk is the largest of the deer kind, 
and the skeleton is somewhat similar to those dug 
up in the bogs in Ireland 3 his horns are palmated 
like those of the moose, but consist of three divi- 
sions — 1st. the brow-antlers — 2nd. the middle prongs 
(called the fighting horns) — 3rd. the horns properly 
so called ; — he sheds them annually, when a pith is 
eft, which soon becomes protected by a cover re- 
sembling velvet, and in eight weeks, the horns begin 
to grow again, and soon attain their usual size, 
which on a young animal of Upper Canada was thus 
measured : distance between the root of the horns, 
four inches ; brow-antlers, one foot six inches ; 
fighting horns, one foot six inches ; longest horn, 
three feet four inches ; from the tip of one horn to 
another, two feet six inches. The size of the elk, 



ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



239 



on which the foregoing measurement was made, 
was from the snout to the tail, seven feet three 
inches 5 height, four feet seven inches 5 belly girth, 
five feet six inches 5 withers, four feet ten inches - y 
length of the head, one foot eleven inches — of the 
ear, nine inches 5 and from the tip of one ear to 
the other, two feet two inches. 

There are a great variety of deer, some weighing 
nearly 300lbs. 

The Musk Ox somewhat resembles the buffalo, 
and is found principally in the arctic regions. Both 
the Musk Ox and the Bison are varieties of the 
domestic cow, with a rough covering of hair, and 
great strength and agility suited to their situation. 

The B ison, which inhabits the western regions, 
is now seldom or never seen near the British settle- 
ments 3 he is shy and fearful of man, unless when 
wounded, when he turns on the hunters • he is in 
appearance somewhat like an immense bull, (weigh- 
ing sometimes 2,OOOlbs.) of a brown colour, with 
two short black round horns, elevated shoulders, 
short and thick legs, naked stumpy tail, and the 
forehead, the chin, neck and dewlap, covered with 
long flocks of woolly hair, which give to him a 
savage appearance. 

The Wolf somewhat resembles an immense dog, 
of a dirty sallow or grey colour, with a black line 
along the back 5 in weight, he has been known to 
exceed 90lbs. the length of the body is five feet, ex- 
clusive of the tail, which is one foot six inches 5 
the circumference of the animal is two feet nine 
inches, and the fore legs, each, one foot six inches 



240 



THE CANADAS. 



long. He is very voracious, committing consider- 
able depredations on the sheep-fold, and howling in 
concert most hideously 5 but the Canadian settlers 
and their dogs are fast exterminating the race. 
Wolvereens are common in the Northern territories 
and very powerful animals. 

Bears are numerous — generally black, (except 
towards Labrador and Hudson's Bay) and of greater 
size than the European animal, having been known 
to weigh more than 400lbs. Although carnivo- 
rous, they are timid, unless when wounded or hun- 
gry ; and in default of sheep, pigs or other flesh, 
they feed on nuts, berries, corn, &c. On the ap- 
proach of the cold season, the bear, without making 
any provision for winter, retires to a hollow tree or 
cave, where, according to the vulgar opinion, he 
sustains life by sucking his paws — the fact is, Bruin 
sleeps through the frost and snow months, and 
comes forth with the return of spring, to recruit his 
famished strength, and get fat before the revolving- 
solstice again sends him back to a fasting dormi- 
tory, — which is prepared with sticks and branches, 
overlaid with a coating of warm moss. 

The bear is exceedingly strong ; the largest will 
climb a tree like a cat, and they possess all the 
cunning of the fox, with a deal of the instinct of 
the dog : they are dexterous in catching smelt 
and small fish that abound in the Canadian streams, 
— the inmates of ant hills are frequently de- 
voured wholesale by their arch-enemy, and the 
honey of bees is a temptation so irresistible, that 
Bruin often risks being stung to death or madness, 



ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



241 



for the sake of gratifying his sweet tooth. The 
black bear will seldom or never attack man — indeed 
the Indians say that as soon as he hears the human 
voice, he scampers off, knowing full well that the 
armed biped is more than his match, with some 
villainous gunpowder. The flesh of the bear is 
palatable, and the ham considered a delicacy. The 
female is very seldom taken when with young, and it 
is said that gestation takes places in the winter re- 
treat of the animal. 

Foxes are numerous, and equally cunning as their 
European brethren 5 their prevailing colour is a very 
bright red — some are jet black, others of a silvery 
grey, and in the polar regions, white 5 when hard 
pressed for food, the last- mentioned, it is said, will 
prey upon each other. 

Hares are abundant, and turn white in winter as 
in Norway. 

The Racoon somewhat resembles the fox, with 
head and teeth like the dog — of a brown colour, 
with large and greenish eyes, surrounded by a circle 
of black. The tail is round, bushy, tapering to the 
end, and annulated with several black bars : the 
fore-legs are shorter than the hind, both armed with 
sharp claws, enabling the animal to leap from tree 
to tree, like the squirrel, with surprising agility : it 
is often tamed, and the fur is preferable to that pf 
the beaver. 

Martins and Wild Cats are numerous 5 between 
the two a deadly enmity exists, the former, which 
resemble the weasel in appearance, often killing the 
latter. 

VOL. I. R 



242 



THE CANADAS. 



Porcupines, Squirrels and various small animals 
with fine furs, under different names, are abundant 
in America. 

The Beaver, forming the connecting link between 
quadrupeds and fish, is numerous in North America. 
The length of this singular amphibious animal is 
about two feet nine inches, with very short fore feet 
and divided toes, while the hinder are membranous, 
and adapted for swimming ; the body is covered 
with a soft glossy fur, the tail is oval, scaly, des- 
titute of hair, and one foot long 5 — it has sixteen 
grinders, eight in each jaw, four front teeth, called 
incisors, of which the two upper are truncated, and 
excavated with a transverse angle, and the two 
lower transverse at the tips. With the incisors, 
trees of soft wood are cut down, of the diameter, it 
has been said, of eighteen inches — while the trun- 
cated grinders serve to break hard substances. 

The instinct of these animals, which prompts them 
to unite in communities and live in houses of their 
own construction, is well known 3 their habitations 
are built in ponds, or running streams 5 when build- 
ing in the latter, the sagacity of the beaver enables 
it to choose a place easily dammed, which they ac- 
complish by cutting down wood of the requisite 
thickness, (about eight inches in diameter,) placing 
the pailing up and down the stream, connecting the 
stakes with mud, and finally cementing and coating 
the whole with a mortar made of twigs and a tena- 
cious clay, using their tails as trowels, with all the 
expertness of a ' free and accepted mason.' When 
the dam is constructed, the beavers proceed to erect 



ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



243 



their chateau, which is generally two or three stories 
high, with walls of five feet thick, on which the 
last coating of mud plaster is not put, until the frost 
sets in, by which means it is frozen so hard, that the 
wolvereen, their great enemy, cannot break through 5 
and the house is so constructed, that the upper 
floor is above the level of the highest flood, and 
perfectly dry in the worst of times, while a sluice is 
left to carry off any surplus water. * The trees 
which are nearest the water are chosen to furnish 
building materials, and cut in such a manner that 
when they fall, it will be into the stream, so that they 
may be readily floated to the spot where they are 
wanted. Some of the large houses have several 
apartments $ but generally each family of beavers 
has its own house, though they all labour together in 
rearing the common edifice. 

The shape of the beaver- castle is oval, and so 
well roofed in as to be perfectly water proof. When 
the beavers build in a pond, they do not form a 
dam, but select a situation which will admit of an 
open passage from the cellar on the shore or river 
bank, to the water under the ice, in which several 
breathing holes are kept always open. The winter 
food, consisting of poplar logs, pieces of willow, 

* It is a remarkable circumstance that the great wild mea- 
dows, or savannahs of America, have been caused by the beaver- 
dams which, by covering the ground with water, destroy the 
trees and bushes, and form reservoirs for the melted snows and 
autumnal rains to deposit the rich particles of the soil swept 
from the high lands. May not this account for the large prai- 
ries found totally destitute of trees ? 



244 



THE CAN A DAS. 



alder, &c. is collected in autumn, and sunk in the 
water near the dwelling houses, which they generally 
build in places where a certain thick root grows in 
the water or on the margins of lakes, and of which 
they are particularly fond. When the community 
of beavers increases, either by immigration or birth, 
—rendering an addition to their township necessary ; 
or when from being disturbed by the Indians, or 
other enemies, they deem it advisable, after consul- 
tation, to shift their dwellings — the work of cutting 
down the timber, and preparing the new dam com- 
mences in the middle of summer, though they wait 
for the setting in of the frost, before attempting to 
complete the work. 

Such is the ingenuity of this extraordinary ani- 
mal , which, it may be added, is easily tamed, and 
of scrupulously cleanly habits, either in its own 
house or in that of man, and whose instinctive saga- 
city is so great, that when caught, or even when 
perceiving the approach of an enemy, it gives a 
smart blow on the water with the flat part of its 
tail, in order to give the alarm to its companions. 

The Musk Rat, or Musquash is amphibious, re- 
sembling the beaver in its habits, and is about 15 
inches in length. It is said that in winter, when 
the ponds or rivers are entirely frozen over, the 
family of the musquashes build huts on the ice of 
sticks, rushes, and mud, keeping a hole open under 
the building, for the purpose of getting into the 
water for fish or other food. 

The Otter somewhat resembles the beaver, but its 
eeth are like those of the dog $ it does not build like 



ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



245 



the beaver, and is said not to be an amphibious 
animal in the true sense of the word. 

There are several other amphibious animals in E. 
America of which we know little or nothing ; among 
these is the 

Walrus (sea Horse or sea Cow) which has now 
deserted the shores of the gulph of St. Lawrence, 
and is only to be met with on the north coast of 
Labrador and about Hudsons's Bay. In shape, the 
walrus is somewhat like the seal, but of great size, 
a full grown male weighing 4,000lbs. They are 
gregarious, extremely attached to their young, in 
defence of whom, or when wounded, they will use 
their formidable tusks with terrible effect 5 but they 
are unable to defend themselves out of the water, 
and when attacked in this situation, set up a most 
piteous and heart-rending cry, or rather howl. 

Birds. — The coldness of the climate of Lower 
Canada is unfavourable to an extensive variety of 
birds : many of the feathered tribe are birds of pas- 
sage 5 and in general they differ little from the birds 
of the same name in Europe. There are varieties of 
the eagle, hawk, owl, crow, woodpecker, swan, 
goose, duck, gull, pigeon, plover, partridge, snipe, 
and grouse, and also of many of the smaller winged 
race. The plumage of the American birds is far 
more splendid than that of their congeners in Europe, 
but the latter are compensated for their want of 
brilliant exterior, by the rich and varied melody in 
which they surpass their transatlantic namesakes. 
Many, if not most, of the birds of Lower Canada 
are migratory : the wild goose, duck, teal, and such 



246 



THE CANADAS. 



tribes, leave Canada, during the summer, for more 
northerly and cooler regions ; while the summer birds 
migrate southerly during the period of intense cold. 
There is good shooting in Canada 5 but it is pur- 
chased at an expense of great hardship, and no little 
danger, amidst the lakes and forests of the uncul- 
tivated country. Most of the birds are reckoned 
delicacies, in particular the wild pigeon, of a beau- 
tiful blue plumage, tinged with shades of green, red, 
and gold, and whose numbers are so great as to 
darken the sky for miles, when annually migrating 
towards the North. 

In Upper Canada the native birds are numerous, 
and though differing in some instances, and in some 
respects from those of England, they are popularly 
known by the appellations of turkey, goose, swan, 
duck, brant, water hen, pheasant, partridge, quail, 
pigeon, eagle, hawk, raven, vulture, crow, owl, 
whip-poor-will, (so called from its cry) bat, swal- 
low, robin, lark, heron, pelican, gull, snipe, plover, 
diver, kingfisher, black and blue birds, jay, mocking 
bird, woodpecker, cuckoo, sparrow, snowbird, wren, 
humming bird, with many others j all indicating 
that the emigrant need not fear being deprived in 
America of the company of his usual feathered war- 
blers or water birds. 

There are snakes as in England, but few of a ve- 
nomous nature 5 many of them are exquisitely beau- 
tiful. The intelligent and patriotic traveller, Mr. N. 
Gould, has favoured me, among many other valuable 
communications, with the following observations on 
the rattle-snake of North America. The rattle- 



ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



247 



snakes are caught with cleft sticks by the Indians, 
who instantly cut off their heads before they have 
an opportunity of biting themselves, and afterwards 
use them for food. It is universally acknowledged, 
that cold weather weakens or destroys their poison- 
ous qualities, and that in the spring, when they come 
forth from their places of torpid concealment,* they 
are innocuous till they have got to water 5 and at 
that time, they have so strong and peculiar an odour, 
as to cause sickness to those who hunt them. In 
some parts of Ohio they are still numerous, and in 
a few spots of Upper Canada 3 but to the generality 
of Americans in the long settled parts, and to the 
Canadians, they are as rare as to Europeans. There 
are some persons who doubt their fascination, but 
others, who have paid much attention to the subject, 
speak positively of this power 5 one gentleman indeed 
asserted that, in a swamp, near his house, he used 
to kill numbers, being led there by seeing the black- 
birds (a species of the starling) flying round and 
round in narrower circles, under the paralizing effect 
of their fascination : he added that, when once the 
attention of the snake was withdrawn by his pre- 
sence from its prey, the charm was broken, and the 
birds flew away. 

Several varieties of lizards and frogs abound 
and the land crab, to be met with on the north shore 
of Lake Erie, has some resemblance to a lizard. 
Insects abound, and are of every variety of colour. 

* Petrified beds or nests of snakes are often found in digging 
canals, &c. 



248 



THE CAXADAS. 



Mosquitoes and sand flies are troublesome in the 
new lands. A species of fresh water tortoise, or land 
turtle, is found on the shores of the lakes, and is 
tolerable food ; seals have been seen on the island 
in Lake Ontario, and there are reports of a cracken, 
or large serpent, having been observed on the north 
shore of the same lake. 

For fine fish, the waters of Upper Canada are un- 
equalled : the sturgeon weighs from 75 to 100 lbs., 
and is capital eating 3 the shell-back species have 
been taken in Lake Ontario. The mosquenonge, 
rather a rare fish, weighing from 50 to 60 pounds, is 
preferred to our salmon. The trout of the upper 
lakes attains the size of 80 or 90 pounds, and re- 
sembles the salmon in colour, but is not so highly 
flavoured ; the white fish, resembling the shad, is 
plentiful ; the pike of Ontario weighs from three to 
1 pounds 5 the pickerel is not so round as the pike, 
shorter, flatter, and deeper ; there are three species 
of bass ; the perch weighs about a pound, and is a 
good pan fish 5 among the other species are dace, 
chub, carp, mullet, suckers, billfish, lake herrings, 
and eels 5 the latter are not caught, I believe, be- 
yond the Falls of Niagara, where they may be ob- 
served endeavouring to ascend the slimy and per- 
pendicular rock, where it is over-arched by the 
water, The manner in which the fish are caught in 
Canada has been thus described : Those living on 
the borders of the numerous lakes and rivers, are 
provided either with a light boat, log, or what is by 
far the best, a bark canoe ; a barbed fishing spear, 
with light tapering shaft, about 12 or 16 feet long, 



VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



249 



and an iron basket for holding burning pine knots, 
and capable of being suspended at the head of the 
boat, when fired. In the calm evenings after dusk, 
many of these lights are seen stealing out from the 
woody bays in the lakes, towards the best fishing 
grounds, and two or three canoes together, with the 
reflection of the red light from the clear green water 
on the bronzed faces of either the native Indian, or 
the almost as wild Backwoodsman, compose an ex- 
traordinary scene : the silence of the night is undis- 
turbed, save by the gurgling noise ofthepaddles, or the 
sudden dash of the spear, followed by the struggles 
of the transfixed fish, or perhaps the characteristic 
" Eh," from the Indian steersman. In this manner 
sometime 50 or 60 fish, of three or four pounds each, 
are speared in the course of a night, consisting of 
black bass, white fish, and sometimes a noble mosque- 
nonge. A little practice soon enables the young 
settler to take an active part in this pursuit. The 
light seems to attract the fish, as they thickly con- 
gregate round it. But few fish are caught in this 
country by the fly : at some seasons, the black bass 
will rise to it. 

Vegetable Kingdom.* — The vegetation of Ca- 
nada is as varied as it is beautiful 5 it will be suffi- 
cient, however to detail the loftier species of timber, 
which forms the staple produce of the colony. In 
the low and light sandy soil, almost every species 
of pine is produced, together with cedars and swamp 

* The necessity for brevity has compelled a curtailment of 
this section ; but in those Colonies where the Vegetable King- 
dom is an object of greater interest, the subject will be more 
largely treated of. 



250 



THE CAN AD AS. 



ash 3 the dry and more elevated land yields oak, 
elm, ash and birch of various kinds, as also maple, 
walnut, chesnut, cherry, hiccory, hazel, iron wood, 
thorn, &c. but the pines and firs are monarchs of the 
forest. 

I avail myself of a description by another hand, 
of the beautiful family of the Coniferae. 

Spruces. — Pinus Balsamea, L. — A beautiful 
evergreen tree, in open situations feathered to the 
ground, and rising in a pyramidal shape to the 
height of 30 feet or more ; and, on these accounts, 
much planted for shrubbery and park scenery in 
Great Britain. The famous Canada Balsam is pro- 
cured from this tree 5 it is found in small blisters 
in the bark, extracted by incision, and received in a 
limpid state into a shell or cup. Perhaps there is 
not a better varnish for water-colour paintings, than 
that which is prepared from this liquid resin. The 
branches of this, as well as the hemlock, are used 
by the Indians, and Canadian voyagers, to sleep upon. 
In their winter voyages, they scrape the snow into 
heaps with their snow-shoes, making a kind of snow 
wall on each side of their lair, then strewing the 
ground with branches, wrap themselves in their 
blankets 5 and thus sleep, when the thermometer is 
many degrees below zero. In this way, between 
two Indians, did Captain Thompson sleep, in his 
unsuccessful attempt to overtake Captain Franklin 
in his artic journey. 

Pinus Canadensis, L. — A large tree, with beauti- 
ful foliage, in some degree resembling yew, vying 
in magnitude with the Pinus Strobus, or white 



VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



251 



pine : it is an ornamental tree, coveting dry sandy 
soils. The leaves have the flavour of juniper-berries, 
and are occasionally used by the country people to 
make a ptisanne. The bark is greatly used for 
tanning leather, even in preference to oak bark. 

Pinus Nigra. — A middle-sized tree, tall, straight 
and taper 3 the foliage dense and dark. Large 
tracts of swamps are seen covered with this and 
other evergreens, giving them a dark dismal aspect, 
hence called black swamps, or blackwood lands. 
From the spray of this tree it extracted the essence 
with which that wholesome beverage, spruce beer 
is made ; and the Indians turn to a valuable account 
the slender roots, for stitching the sheets of birch 
bark, of which their frail-looking, but invaluable 
canoes are made. The root is merely slit longitudi- 
nally into strips as thick as packthread, moistened, 
twisted, and applied : the sewing is then payed over 
with resin extracted from the pine-tree, or its knots, 
by boiling them in water. 

Pinus Alba. — A tree very similar to the preced- 
ing one 5 but its foliage neither so dark in colour 
nor dense, having a blue cast ; growing in drier 
soils. From this tree chiefly the Indians collect 
the gum with which they pay the seams of their 
bark canoes 5 it exudes on the surface, and at the 
knots and wounds, whence it is taken and melted, 
to free it from impurities. 

Pinus Resinosa. — A handsome tree of large 
growth 5 bark scaly, and of a reddish colour. This 
tree is the glory of Canada $ it grows on light and 
sandy soils throughout the country 5 competing in 



252 



THE CAXADAS. 



every respect with the yellow deals of the north of 
Europe. 

The timber, in colour, quality, and durability, ap- 
pears to be in every respect equal to the best Riga 3 
and in one particular superior, viz., that of being 
more free from knots 3 which in some parts of the 
country, particularly in Scotland, gives it a prefer- 
ence over Baltic : there is still, however, much pre- 
judice to overcome. 

Pixus Baxksiana. — A small tree, rather shrubby, 
but varying in size according to the nature of the 
soil. 

Pixus Rigida. — A tree of large growth, about the 
size of the red pine, said to be a native, but certainly 
of rare occurrence in Canada 3 though abundant in 
some parts of the United States. So abundant is 
its resinous quality, that the knots are incorruptible, 
and being found in considerable quantities in groves 
consisting of this wood, they are collected by the 
Americans, piled upon a stone hearth, covered 
with soil and earth, and set on fire in the same 
manner as charcoal is made 3 the heat causes the 
tar to leave the knots, and to flow over the hearth, 
by a groove cut in it for the purpose. The smoke 
of the same fires is condensed, and collected in 
wooden receptacles 3 and thus by one process, are 
tar and lampblack manufactured. 

Pixus Serotixa.—- Little is known of this tree 3 
it is said by Purch to abound in the island of Anticosti. 

Pixus Strobus, L. — This tree, called in our 
English parks the Weymouth pine, is the most ma- 
jestic of all the Canadian pines, and, with the excep- 



VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



253 



tion of some of this family to be found in the neigh- 
bourhood of the Columbia river, on the north-west 
coast of America, reported to be 250 feet high and 
50 feet in circumference, towers over all the trees 
of the forest, being occasionally found of 150 feet 
in height, and 5 feet in diameter at the base. When 
growing in open situations, it is feathered to the 
ground j but, as generally found in Canadian forests, 
it is little more than an immense stick, with a quan- 
tity of brush at its head, in about the same propor- 
tion as the hair on the tail of an elephant. It is of 
this tree, that in general, the forests of all British 
America are composed ; and it is in fact peculiar to 
America. It is called in commerce white pine, yellow 
pine, or American pine. 

The age to which this tree arrives is not known 5 
1500 annular divisions have been counted. It has 
been remarked, both in the United States and Canada, 
that in general the largest trees of this species stand 
blighted or dead, as if the remains of more ancient 
growth, or blasted by lightning. Perhaps, as has 
been generally supposed, the colder the situation, 
the slower the growth, and the stronger and harder 
the timber. 

Larches. — Pinus Pendula Lb. — A tall taper 
tree. The timber is straight, grained, and strong, 
and suited for spars of ships $ but inferior to white 
and black spruce for that purpose, on account of its 
greater weight $ it burns briskly, and furnishes a 
great sudden heat, and is, therefore, in request as fuel 
for steam-engines on the St. Lawrence. Some idea 
of the immense consumption of fire-wood by steam- 



254 



THE CANADAS. 



boats in America may be formed, when it is known 
that these boats are as numerous on their rivers, as 
coaches on our public roads, and that one of them 
of 80-horse power, consumed on its voyage from 
New York to Albany, (about 130 miles), in 1 1 hours, 
22 cords of wood, each 8 foot long by 4 feet wide 
and 4 feet high, or 2,816 cubic feet, costing 5 dol- 
lars, or 22s. 6d. per cord. The expence, and the 
quantity of space required on board, have led to the 
use of coals ; and for the last two years, large quan- 
tities of coals have been shipped to New York and 
Philadelphia, from the Albion coal-mines at Picton 

Juniperus, L. — A small evergreen tree. It de- 
lights in a deep clay, or vegetable soil, subject to 
overflowings. 

Juniperus Communis Depressa, L. — A low 
spreading shrub, about two feet high. Although 
hitherto the berries have not been used by the dis- 
tiller, it is difficult to rind a reason for the neglect. 

Juniperus Saberia, L.— A low decumbent shrub, 
about six inches high. I am not aware that it is 
used medicinally in Canada ; the leaves are, how- 
ever, occasionally made up with hog's lard, for the 
cure of rheumatism. 

Thuya, L.— This tree looks like a species of Cy- 
press j it grows generally in moist grounds, or clay 
soils, subject to overflowings, and on the sides of 
hills, attaining a large size in favourable situations. 
In the Back Lands of the Mississippi, there are im- 
mense swamps covered with this wood, than which 
no prospect on earth can be more gloomy. It 
might have been supposed that the ancients, who 



VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



255 



dedicated the Cypress to funereal rites, had seen these 
" Black Swamps nothing so forbidding in a ve- 
getable shape, exists in Europe. 

The timber has the lowest specific gravity of all 
Canadian hard wood, but the greatest durability. It 
is of slow growth, Michaux having counted 277 
annular rings in a stem of 21 inches diameter. 

Taxus, L. — A recumbent evergreen shrub, rising 
obliquely to the height of four or five feet. In fo- 
liage it resembles Spruce ; although called ' Buis ' 
by the Canadians, it has little resemblance to Box. 
The berry is very similar to the fruit of the Euro- 
pean species, found in shady woods, and the north 
sides of hills. 

There are several varieties of the Oak, — all good 
woods when cut down in the proper season, and 
cured sufficiently before use. I cannot help think- 
ing, however, that the rapid decay of many timbers 
is owing to their being cut in summer instead of in 
winter, and at the full instead of at the dark moon.* 

As regards the Canadian Oak, it is stated by Mr. 
M c Taggart (the engineer who so ably distinguished 
himself while in the colony) that it is not so durable 
as that of the British, the fibre not being so compact 

* Mr. Nathaniel Gould informs me, that he found in the 
United States, and in panada, that the wane of the moon in 
the winter months was, universally considered, the best season 
for felling timber. The Americans contract for their ship 
timber, to be felled or girdled, between the 20th October and 
the 12th February. In fact, dry rot appears to me to be caused 
by the natural moisture or sap being left in the wood, and,, 
therefore, the less there is in the tree when cut,, the longer it 
will keep sound. 



256 



THE CANADAS. 



and strong 5 it grows in extensive groves near the 
banks of large lakes and rivers, sometimes found 
squaring to 50 feet in length, by two feet six in- 
ches, — its specific gravity greater than water ; and, 
therefore, when floated down in rafts, it is rendered 
buoyant with cross-bars of pine. It is easily squared 
with the hatchet, and answers well for ship-building 
and heavy work, — will endure the seasons for about 
15 years, — and does not decay in England so soon 
as in Canada. Another kind of timber, called the 
scrubby oak, is much like the British gnarly oak, 
difficult to work with the hatchet, but of a very du- 
rable nature. The swamp oak of Canada grows in 
marshy places, — is full of branches, irregular in 
form, and soft to work : it is extremely heavy, and 
when water-soaked, useful in forming wharfs and 
jetties in sandy bays, where there are no stones, and 
where piles cannot be driven. 

The Birch tribe is numerous ; the wood of the 
betula nigra is finely shaded, and susceptible of a 
high polish : and the sap drained in March and 
April, from all the varieties of birch, makes excel- 
lent vinegar or a pleasant weak wine may be ob- 
tained by boiling and fermentation. 

The American maple is a beautiful tree in all its 
forms 5 that called the bird's eye, takes its name 
from its mottled hue $ the curled maple is richly 
shaded in fibres, admits a high polish, and forms the 
ornamental work so much admired in the American 
packets. It is from a variety of the maple (acer 
saccharinum) , that the celebrated maple sugar is 
made ; the production of which, in Lower Canada, 



VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



257 



amounts to about 25,000 cwts. annually. The tree 
is large and shadowy, with richly tinted foliage in 
autumn 5 and its timber is valuable for its strength, 
weight, closeness of grain, waving fibre, and sus- 
ceptibility of polish. The sugar is extracted by 
evaporation from the sap, which it yields abun- 
dantly, when the bark and wood are wounded in 
spring ; one tree yielding from a pint to two gal- 
lons per day. A plantation of maples is termed a 
suegari, and is justly considered valuable, as the 
sugar^is rich, and pleasant to the taste, and sells from 
3(2. to 6d. per pound. The vegetable productions of 
the Upper Province are nearly akin to those of the 
Lower 3 the forest trees most prevalent are beech, 
maple, birch, elm, bass, ash, oak, pine, hiccory, 
buttermint, balsam, hazel, hemlock, cherry, cedar, 
Cyprus, fir, poplar, sycamore (or button wood), white 
wood, willow and spruce. 

Many other trees and vegetable productions would 
claim notice, did space permit - } I must conclude the 
section with observing, that all European plants, 
fruits, vegetables, grain, legumes, &c. yield even in 
greater abundance than in the old world ; sarsapa- 
rilla, ginseng, and other medicinals, are plentiful ; 
but their virtues are as yet imperfectly known. 
Tobacco,* hemp, hops, may all be reared, in any 
quantity the mother country may require. 

* Tobacco was used by the Indians in Canada, when disco- 
vered by the Europeans. Cartier, in his voyage to Canada 
of 1535, describes, " a certain kind of herbe whereof in sum- 
VOL. I. S 



258 ' 



THE CANADAS. 



Staple Produce. — The principal productions of 
Canada may be partly judged of from the foregoing 
statements : — the colony is as yet decidedly agricul- 
tural, the principal exportable articles which do not 
come under that denomination, being timber and 
ashes. The production of timber is very great, and 
capable of being continued for many years : an idea 
may be formed of its extent from the fact, that the ca- 
pital employed in the lumber (timber) establishments 
and saw-mills in the neighbourhood of Quebec, is 
<£l, 250,000 : this sum is laid out in erecting saw- 
mills, forming log-ponds, building craft for the trans- 
port of deals, and forming a secure riding for the 
ships in the strong tide- way of the St. Lawrence, 
while shipping the timbers. The lumber trade is of 
the utmost value to the poorer inhabitants, as it 
furnishes their only means of support during the 
severity of a long winter, particularly after seasons 
of bad crops (frequent in the lower provinces) 5 and 
as it enables young men and new settlers most readily 
to establish themselves on the waste lands. 

There are manufactories of different articles es ta- 
mer, they make a provision for all the year, making great ac- 
count of it, and only men use of it ; first they cause it to be 
dried in the sunne, then weare it about their neckes wrapped 
in a little beaste's skinne, made like a little bagge,"with a hol- 
low piece of stone or wood like a pipe ; then, when they please, 
they make powder of it, and then put it in one of the ends of 
the said cornet or pipe, and laying a coal of fire upon it at the 
other end, sucke so long that they fill their bodies full of 
smoke, till that it cometh out of their mouth and nostrils, even 
as out of the tonnell of a chimney. " — Hakluyt, iii. 224. 



STAPLE PRODUCE. 



259 



blished at Montreal and Quebec ; soap and candles 
are now exported 5 in 1831, of soap, 81,819 lbs., and 
of candles, 31,811, almost entirely to the other nor- 
thern colonies ; and the corn and flour trade of 
Canada promises to be a great source of wealth to 
the colonists. 

Horned cattle, sheep, swine, &c. multiply with 
astonishing rapidity, and the European breeds seem 
improved on being transplanted to the American 
continent. The quantity of fish caught in the river 
and gulf of St. Lawrence, and in other streams, is 
very great, and the consumption of this diet is con- 
siderable, in consequence of the prevalence of the 
Roman Catholic faith. Fish oil is becoming an ex- 
tensive article of export ; as are also hides and 
horns. The peltry or fur trade has its outlet from 
the N. W. territories, through Lower Canada. I 
hope to see ere long, tobacco, hemp, wool, wax, 
rape and other oils, among the staple products of 
this fine colony. The value of the property is thus 
estimated: — Annually created, 17,417,6961.; move- 
able, 34,41 3,870Z. 5 immoveable,26,556,358Z.5 Grand 
Total, 78,387,924Z. 

Lower Canada. — The census of 1831 gives the 
agricultural produce of the colony as follows : — 
Area of sq. miles, 205,963. Acres of land occupied, 
3,981,793. Acres of improved land, 2,065,913. 
Minots of wheat, 3,404,756. Do. of peas, 984,758. 
Do. of oats, 3,142,274. Do. of barley, 394,795. 
Do. of rye, 234,529. Do. of Indian corn, 339,633. 
Do. of potatoes, 7,357,416. Do. of buck wheat, 



260 



THE CAN ADAS. 



106,050. Neat cattle, 389,706. Horses, 116,686 
Sheep, 543,343. Hogs, 295,137- Taverns, 1035. 
Spirit stores, 857- Grist mills, 395. Saw do. 737, 
Oil do. 14. Fulling do. 97- Carding do. 90. Iron 
works, 103. Trip hammers, 18. Distilleries, 70. 
Pot and pearl ash manufactories, 4S9. Manufacto- 
ries containing machinery, 64. 

The number of ships built in the Lower Province, 
with their registered tonnage, is — 1825, ves. 61, tons 
22,636 \ 1826, ves. 59, tons 17,823 ; 1827, ves. 35, 
tons 7540 5 1828, ves. 30, tons 72/2 ; 1829, ves. 21, 
tons 5465 \ 1830, ves. 11, tons 3059 ; 1831, ves.9 ; 
tons 3250 5 1832, ves. 13, tons. 3,952. 

There is a large quantity of domestic manufac- 
tures made in the colony 5 the looms are in number 
upwards of 13,000 : of linen, the average quantity 
spun annually is 1,000,000 French ells 5 of flannel, 
nearly an equal amount; and of woollen cloth, 
1,1 50,000 ells. I cannot ascertain how much iron is 
produced at the forges of St. Maurice , the quantity 
however is considerable, and the metal is esteemed 
for its flexibility and strength. The American ashes 
(made from the residue of any burned plant, or tim- 
ber, growing at a distance from the sea shore) con- 
tain a greater proportion of real potash than those 
of Dantzic or Russia. In fine, it rests with Eng- 
land to decide, whether the Canadians are to be 
forced to become a manufacturing people, or remain 
principally agricultural, and furnish us with abun- 
dance of the necessaries of life, in return for our 
linens, woollens, and hardware. Instead of being 



STAPLE PRODUCE. 



261 



supplied with tobacco from the United States, and 
with hemp, tar, and timber from the Baltic, we 
certainly ought to have recourse to this colony for 
these productions, for reasons dictated alike by 
nature and sound policy. 



THE CAN ADAS, 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE COMMERCE, SHIPPING, IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF QUEBEC 
AND MONTREAL; VALUE OF THE TRADE, WEIGHTS AND 
MEASURES MONETARY SYSTEM BANKS, ETC. 

Quebec and Montreal are the shipping ports of 
Upper as well as Lower Canada. The value of the 
Maritime trade is thus indicated for 1831 : — Imports 
from Great Britain, 96,803/., from British Colonies, 
838,482/., from Foreign States, 770,29S/. Total, 
1,705,623 /. Exports to Great Britain, 987,694/., 
to British Colonies, 128,526/., to Foreign States, 
79,292/. Total, 1,195,512/. 

The maritime trade of Canada may, in fact, be 
estimated at upwards of three millions sterling per 
annum : the shipping employed in 1832 is thus 
shewn : 

Ships Inwards— from Great Britain, 1821, Tons, 244,493. 
From British Colonies, 217, Tons, 26,652. From Foreign 
States, 18, Tons, 10,199. Total, 1056. Tons, 281,344. 

Ships Outwards, — To Great Britain, 892, Tons, 254,891. 
To British Colonies, 201, Tons, 22,388. To Foreign States, 
5, Tons, 1254. Total, 1098, Tons, 278,533. 

Thus it will be observed that, there is an inward 
and outward, tonnage, to the amount of upwards of 

half a million tons ! 

The following is a Statement.of the Number of Vessels cleared 
out at Quebec for the following Ports in 1833, 1834, 1835 : 




FubUsheS. bi> John^Mm^mer, Z, 



loloaiies Tol. i. Possessions in America. 




COMMERCE. 



263 









London. 


Liverpool. 








Ships. 


Tons. Ships. 


Tons. 


1833.... 


Oct. 


25 


.. .. 109 .. 


38,868 


94 .. 


30,168 


1834.. .. 


— 


31 , 


.. .. Ill .. 


37,723 


113 .. 


40,254 


1835.. .. 


, — 


26 . 


.... 95 .. 


32,134 


140 .. 


52,184 


Loading 


— 




... 21 .. 




21 .. 


8,474 








Clyde. 


Cork. 


Dublin. 






Ships. Tons. 


Ships. Tons. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


1833 


.Oct. 


25., 


.43.-17,263 


35. . 10,767 


51 .. 


13,237 


1834. . . . 


— 


31., 


.38.. 17,000 


42. . 12,423 


41 .. 


10,382 


1835 




26. 


.45.. 20,622 


19.. 6,270 


24 .. 


6,070 


Loading 


— 




. 9.. 4,092 


7.. 2,265 


3 .. 


777 








Belfast. 


Hull. 


Sunderland, 






Ships. Tons. 


Ships. Tons. 


Ships. 


Tons. 


1833.. ., 


.Oct. 


25. 


.31.. 8,424 


21.. 7,761 


23 .. 


5,795 


1834.. .. 




31. 


.44.. 12,211 


34.. 12,363 


20 .. 


4,924 


1835.. ., 




26. 


.39.. 11,496 


34.. 11,738 


15 .. 


3,933 


Loading 






. 3.. 943 


6.. 1,918 


7 .. 


1,831 



Having now demonstrated the amount of shipping 
and the value of the trade at Canada, I proceed to 
give the principal articles of import and export for 
1832, in quantity, and not according to value. 

Madeira, gal. 22,327; Port. do. 79,592 ; Teneriffe, do. 94,227 ; 
Fayal, do. 110 ; Sicilian and Spanish, do. 131,718 ; other kinds, 
do. 62,376. Brandy, do. 183,613 ; Gin, do. 60,520; Rum, do. 
1,099,578; Molasses, do. 127,143; RefinedSugar, 1,655,348. lbs. 
Muscovado, do. 577,961, lbs. ; Coffee, 174,901. lbs; Leaf To- 
bacco, 125,7741bs. ; Manufactured 147,109 lbs; Tea, 983,256 
lbs. ; Salt, 287,436 lbs ; Merchandize, paying 2\ per cent, duty, 
1,327,369/. 

The following enumeration of the articles (in 
quantities) exported from Quebec by sea, in the year 
ending 5 January, 1834, will indicate the importance 
of the Colony. 



264 



THE CAXADAS. 



Quebec. — Ashes, pot, 7579. brls. Do. pearl, 5175, do. 
Apples, 388, do. Beef, 3909, do. Ditto, half-barrels, 484. 
Beef, round and Tongues, 18,887 lbs. Butter, 26,936, do. 
Biscuit, 2380 cwts. Flour, 59,651 brls. Fish, — Alewives, do. 
657. Cod, 5617 cwts. Herrings and Mackarel, 575 brls. 
Ditto, 175 boxes. Shad, 118 brls. Salmon, 161 tierces. Do. 
59 brls. Do. 23 half-brls. — Grain :— Wheat, 106,301 minots, 
Indian Meal, 476, brls. Oats, or Rye, 429, do. Flax-seed, 1345 
min. Oats, 6185, do. Ditto, 1882 bags. Pease, 1 748 min. — 
Hams and Sausages, 43 kegs. Do. 10,884 lbs. Lard, 13,020, do. 
Pork, 10,118 brls. Ditto, 399 half-brls. Timber,— Ash, 1394 
tons. Birch and Maple, 486 do. Elm, 11,528 do. Oak 
26,125 do. Pine, 188,778 do. Broad Planks, 4804 do. Bat- 
tens, 89,478 pieces. Billets, 174 do. Deals, 2,083,302 do. Deal- 
ends, 69,865 do. Masts and Bowsprits, 776 no. Spars, 3104 do. 
Knees, 230 do. Oars, 17,973 do. Hoops, 77,990 do. Treenails, 
23,756 do. Shingles, 37,100 do. Lathwood, 1946 cords. Staves, 
side and heading, 752,500 pieces. Do. Pipe and Puncheon, 
2,939,049 do. Do. Barrel, 848,819 do. Deal-ends, 4574 do. 
Do. packs, 6426 packs. Handspikes, 13,028 no. Tobacco-leaf, 
5890 lbs. Furs. — Beaver, 5490 skins. Bear and Cub, 264 do. 
Fox, 684 do. Fisher, 47 do. Lanx, 385 do Minx, 530 do. 
Martin, 4536 do. Muskrat, 16,848 do. Otter, 729 do. Ra- 
coons, 4 do. Wolverine, 16 do. Castorum, 169 lbs. Seal 
Skins, 30 packs. Buffalo, 31 skins. 

The Maritime Exports for the same year (1S34) 
from Montreal, which first became a port of entry in 
1831, were as follows 

Montreal. — Ashes, pot, Canada, 14,091 brls Ditto, United 
States, 1334 do. Do. Pearl, Canada, 4436 do. Do. United 
States, 3740 do. Apples, 107 do. Biscuits, 335 do. Bones, 
2000 pieces. Butter, 103 kegs. Candles, 100 boxes. Cas- 
torum, 260 lbs. Furs and Skins. — Beaver, 3811 no. Bears 
and Cubs, 537 do. Fishers, 249 do. Fox, 751 do. Lynx, 
187 do. Martin, 8322 do. Minx, 2016 do. Musk Rat, 
49,538 do. Otter, 1871 do. Racoon, 130 do. Flour, 32,218 



COMMERCE. 



C65 



brls. Grain, Wheat, 547,357 minots. Pease, 186 do. Hides, 
raw, 2510 no. Beef, 1441 brls. Pork, 1266 do. Oil Cake, 
48,000 lbs. Oars, ash, 1899 no. Staves, W. I. 218,433 do. 
Do. Standard, 98,671 do. Do. Barrel, 15,644 do. Do. Fo- 
reign, 7197 do. Timber. — Ash, 123 tons. Birch, 7 do. 
Basswood, 3 do. Elm, 203 do. Oak, 719 do. Pine, 
1092 do, Boards, 28,171 pieces. Deals, 64,788 do. Deal- 
ends, 5853 do. Planks, 782 do. Handspikes, 6020. Soap, 
110 boxes. Tobacco-leaf, 14,000 lbs. 

I must refer to the large edition of my " History 
of the British Colonies," for more ample details of the 
trade of both the Canadas, of which the foregoing 
is but a brief outline. 

The progress of trade between Upper and Lower 
Canada may be judged of from the rapid growth of 
Prescott, on the St. Lawrence, in the route from 
Montreal to Kingston, and distant from the former 
127 miles, and from the latter 62 miles. In 1815, 
the largest vessel employed for the transit of mer- 
chandise between Kingston and Prescott, was one 
schooner of only 40 tons burden. In 1833, there 
were 14 steamboats of different sizes, from 30 to 
500 tons 5 and 50 schooners jfrom 40 to 150 tons. 
These are employed between Prescott and the ports 
on Lake Ontario, besides a number from Lake Erie, 
whose tonnages we could not ascertain. The regis- 
ter tonnages of the steamboats and schooners amount 
to 5,647 tons ! This speaks volumes in behalf of 
the resources of the upper province, as well as of 
the industrious and enterprising spirit of its inha- 
bitants. The number of buildings in Prescott, in 
1815, was barely eight houses 3 in 1833 it contained 
nearly 300 excellent buildings, some of which are 



266 



THE CANADAS. 



not surpassed in size and elegance of structure by 
any in the province. Its population in 1815, did not 
exceed fifty. In 1833, it numbered fully 1,400. 
Such is the rapid progress of agricultural improve- 
ment in Upper Canada, that she can supply the 
whole population with every kind of food, without 
importing • while the export of her raw and manu- 
factured materials pays for all foreign luxuries, and 
leaves a balance in her favour. Her exports of wheat 
last year were 69,948 bushels 5 and of wheat flour 
48,S09 barrels. This year her exports will nearly 
double those of last year. These are cheering pros- 
pects. Although the yearly increase of her popula- 
tion, by emigration and otherwise, has, for some years 
past, been great, yet it has not kept pace with the in- 
crease of her trade. Since 1825 the forwarding trade 
at Prescott has more than doubled, every three years. 
From these facts we should infer that the population 
must be in prosperous circumstances. In 1815 the 
entire population of the upper province did not exceed 
40,000 souls : in 1833, it exceeded 300,000 $ having 
thus, in 18 years, encreased more than seven-fold. 
In 1815 the business done was little more than no- 
minal j at present it almost exceeds belief. 

In reference to a topic now under discussion, I 
may observe that one of the most important branches 
of our commerce with the North American colonies 
is that in timber. This trade has, in our own pos- 
sessions, a fixed capital employed in it to the amount 
of 2,150,OOOZ. sterling, sunk in saw mills, canals, 
wharfs, warehouses, &c. 5 it enables the colonies to 
receive the vast immigration which has been pouring 



COMMERCE. 



267 



into them from the mother country ; — it provides 
the means of paying for the large and annually in- 
creasing quantity of British manufactures consumed 
in our colonies — it gives employment to nearly 
300, 000 tons of English shipping • it prevents us from 
being at the mercy of foreign countries, for an ex- 
tensive supply of an article indispensable to a mari- 
time nation, and which, previous to the creation of 
the Canada timber trade, gave to our rivals " exor- 
bitant profits and the power of enforcing arbitrary 
rates,"* — it enables us in turn to govern the prices 
of foreign timber, for if colonial competition were 
removed, the Baltic merchants would not be slow 
in availing themselves of the monopoly which the 
destruction of the Canadian timber trade would 
give them 5 for to place the duties on the wood of 
each country on an equality, would be tantamount 
to the immediate destruction of our Colonial trade 
— the shipping engaged in which cannot make 
more than two voyages in the year, while the Baltic 
merchant may send his vessel four times to Eng- 
land in the same period — with this additional ad- 
vantage, that he is not obliged to keep his ships 
lying idle during the winter, as is the case with the 
Canadian merchant, — to say nothing of the inferior 
cost in building, and diminished charges in navi- 
gating a Baltic as compared with a British ship, 
though both now enter our ports on the same terms. 

* This is the language of the enactment of 1809, when 
Government encouraged the colonists to embark in the timber 
trade, by pledging its faith for protecting duties against undue 
foreign competition. 



268 



THE CANADAS. 



If it be intended to reduce the duty on Baltic timber, 
a preliminary measure I trust will be, the total re- 
moval of the duty from our Colonial timber, or as 
British goods are admitted into the Canadas at 2\ 
per cent, that no higher tax be levied on Canadian 
timber when imported into England. 

Weights and Measures. — In the Lower Pro- 
vince the English weights are used, viz. lb. troy and 
avoirdupois. The standard wine gallon is the liquid 
measure ; the Canada minot, for all grain, &c, 
except when specially agreed on to the contrary 5 
the minot is an eighth larger than the Winchester 
bushel. The Paris foot is employed for all mea- 
sures of land granted previous to the conquest, the 
English for all since that era. The arpent is for 
all other measures English, unless it may be other- 
wise agreed on. 

In Upper Canada, the weights and measures are 
all English. 

Monetary System. — Intimately connected with 
the commerce and prosperity of a country, is its 
monetary system, which I now proceed to de- 
scribe. 

Lower Canada. — Accounts are kept in Halifax 
currency, by which a guinea (weighing 5 dwts. and 
6 grs.) is equal to 235. 4d. currency 5 a sovereign 
to 22s. 3d. ; a Joannes (a gold coin, weighing 
IS dwts.) to 41. 5 a moidore (weighing 6 dwts. and 
18 grs.) to 21. ; and an eagle (weighing 11 dwts. 
and 6 grs.) to 505. The gold Spanish and French 
coins, are a doubloon (17dwts.) 31. 14s. 6d. ; 
Louis-d'or, coined before 1793, (5 dwts. 4 grs.) 



COMMERCE. 



269 



11. 2s. 8d.- } the pistole, ditto, (4 dwts. 4 grs.) 185.3d. ; 
the forty franc piece, coined since 1792, (8 dwts. 
6 grs.) 11. 16s. 2d. ; the twenty-franc piece (4 dwts. 
3 grs.) 185. 4d. In silver coins the crown is equal 
to 5s. 6d. — Spanish and American dollar to 55. ; 
English shilling 15. Id. ; pistareen Id. French 
crown, coined before 1793, 55. 6d. ; French piece 
of six francs 55. 6d. } and so on. The coins in most 
general circulation are dollars of various denomina- 
tions. 

The metallic circulation may be, estimated at 
about 250,000/. sterling 5 this sum is independent 
of a balance of from 100,000Z. to 150,000/. sterling, 
in the military chest and if it be true that many 
of the Canadians hoard their gold coins to a con- 
siderable extent, we may suppose that full half a 
million gold and silver money exists in the province. 

We come now to the paper circulation. There 
are no notes issued by the Government, or on the 
credit of the colony, nor have the government any 
shares in the private banks, which are three in number 
— viz. the Quebec, Montreal, and City banks, which 
are authorized by charter to issue notes from one 
dollar in value to any amount, payable on demand 
in specie, and subject to the proviso of having cash 
in their vaults to the extent of one -third of their 
circulation. A full account of each bank is re- 
quired to be printed and laid before the Legislature 
annually. The Quebec Bank as appears from a ge- 
neral statement of its affairs as they stood on the 17th 
January, 1834, had a capital stock paid in of 75,000/. ; 
the notes in circulation, in value five dollars and up- 



270 



THE CANADAS. 



wards amounted to 37,57 1 /. ; under five dollars 9 1 80/. 
Total, 46,752/. The nett profit in hand was 9572/. ; 
the balance due to other banks 3432/,; cash deposited, 
not bearing interest 44,930/. Total, 179,587^.* 

The rates of the semi-annual dividend 3 per cent, 
declared in August, 1833 was 2250/. ; and the 
amount of profits reserved, at the time of declaring 
such dividend, 6410/. 

The shares of the Quebec bank are in number 
3000, divided among seventy-six stockholders, who 
each hold a greater or lesser number of shares. 

The state of the Montreal Bank on the 18th 
January, 1834, was capital stock paid in, 250,000/. — 
bills in circulation 190,297/- — nett profits on hand 
37,172/. — balances due to other banks for notes 
collected on their account 16,960/. — amount of 
dividend owing to the stockholders 592/. — balances 
due to foreign agents in exchange transactions 
66 17/. — cash deposited, including all sums what- 
soever, due from the bank, not bearing interest, its 
bills in circulation, profits, and balances owing to 
other banks and agents, excepted 184,882/. — drafts 
on the banks accepted by the cashier, oustanding 
100/. Total, 686,624/. 

Amount of last semi-annual division at 4 per 
cent. 10,0001. 5 amount of reserved profits at time 
of declaring the same, 29,676/. ; amount of debts 
owing to the banks, secured by pledge of its stock, 
1765/. 

The number of shares, in the Montreal bank, is 

* Shillings and pence omitted, which will account for the 
slight discrepancy in the totals. 



COMMERCE. 



271 



5000,, divided among 173 stockholders 5 the greater 
number being in small shares of from ten to fifty 
each. 

The actual circulation 1st December, 1832, of 
paper money — 73,999 of one dollar 48,711 of two 
D. 274 of four D. 172,51/ under five D. — 53,370 
of five D. 31,676 of 10 D. 1684 of 20 D. 2398 
of 50 D. 1531 of 100 D.— 890,290 five D. and 
upwards. D. 1,062,807— 265,7 01 Z. 15s. 

The books of the City bank (Montreal), exhibited 
a general statement of the affairs of that Institution, 
on the 1 5th January, 1 834 — thus : Capital stock 
paid in 84,121/. 5 bills in circulation 34,235/. ; nett 
profits on hand 1866/. 5 balance due to Montreal 
bank 3583/. 5 cash deposited, including all sums 
whatsoever due from the bank, not bearing interest, 
its bills in circulation, profits and balance owing to 
Montreal bank excepted 12,937/. Total 136,744/. 

Amount of debt owing to the bank, and secured 
by a pledge of its stock 25/. ; amount of debt un- 
paid and over due 47/. 

The cash which the City bank (a recent esta- 
blishment) possessed in its vaults in 1834, amounted 
to 15,244/. j Montreal bank, ditto. 73,860/. 3 and 
Quebec bank, 21,011/. 5 — making a total metallic 
money, belonging to private individuals, of 1 10,1 15/. 

The paper currency in circulation in 1825 and in 
1834 was— Quebec bank 28,393/., 46,752/. ; Mon- 
treal ditto 885,45/., 190,297/. 3 Canada* (now 
City) 8432/., 34,235/. ; Total 125,370/., 271,284/. 
* Discontinued. 



272 



THE CAN AD AS. 



It will be evident from the foregoing statements, 
that banking is on the increase in Lower Canada, 
and with it the commerce of the colony. 

Upper Canada. — The monetary system is car- 
ried on by means of the incorporated banks, an in- 
sight into whose proceedings may be obtained from 
the following statements : — 

General Statements of the Affairs of the Bank of Upper 
Canada, on Wednesday, the 21st day of January, 1835, fur- 
nished by order of the Honourable the Commons House of 
Assembly. 

Capital stock paid in 200,000/. Amount of notes in cir- 
culation not bearing interest of the value of five dollars and 
upwards, 198,510/. Ditto under five dollars, 45,329/. Bills 
and notes, in circulation bearing interest none. Balance due to 
other banks 14,993/. Cash deposited, including all sums 
whatsoever due from the bank not bearing interest, (its bills 
in circulation and balances due to other banks excepted) 
180,735/. Amount deposited bearing interest being for the 
home district savings bank, and district bonds in part repaid 
1,799/. Total 641,368. 

Resources of the bank. Gold, silver, and other coined 
metals in the vaults of the bank at Toronto, 76,049/. Ditto at 
its agencies, 24,697/. Real estates and bank furniture 8,698/. 
Bills of other banks 10,936/. Balances due from other banks 
and foreign agents, in London and New York, on exchange 
transactions 140,502/. Balances due by the agencies at this 
date, being money in transitu 3,849/. Amount of all debts 
due, including notes, bills of exchange, and all stock and funded 
debts of every description, excepting the balances due from 
other banks 376,634/. Total 641,368/. 

Statement of the Affairs of the Commercial Bank of the 
Midland District, on Thursday, the 22d of Jan. 1835. 

Gold, silver, and copper in the vaults of the bank and its 
offices 29,429/. Real estate, office, furniture, &c. 3,367/. 
Bills of other banks 5,060/. Balance due from other banks 



COMMERCE. 



273 



and foreign agents 11,349/. Amount of all debts due, in- 
cluding notes, bills of exchange, and all stock and funded 
debts, of every description, excepting the balance due from 
other banks 203,107/. Total amount of the resources of the 
bank 252,314/. Stock paid in 100,000/. Amount of notes in 
circulation, not bearing interest, of five dollars and upwards 
83,830/. Under five dollars 33,250/. Total 117,080/. 
Bills and notes in circulation bearing interest none. Balance 
due to other banks and foreign agents 11,800/. Cash depo- 
sited, including all sums whatsoever due from the bank, not 
bearing interest 21,210/. Cash deposited bearing interest 
2,213/. Total amount due from the bank 252,314/. Rate 
of dividend on the 1st December, 1834, four per cent, on 
capital, making 4,000/. Amount of reserved profits at the 
time of declaring the last dividend 4,108/. Amount of debts 
due to the bank, and not paid, being over due 10,574/. Of 
which the sum of 151/. 7s. 6d. is considered doubtful. 

The money transactions with the agents of the 
Bank of Upper Canada ^are, relatively considered, 
very large 5 they amounted in one year to upwards 
of 1,000,000/. sterling, viz. — 

Remittances to Thomas Wilson and Co., London : 
from 1st January to 30th June, 1833, 100,808/.: 
from 1st January to 17th December, 1833, 118,00/7. 
Total to London 218,815/. Remittances to Mon- 
treal Bank, same dates, first half-year 267,095/. : 
second ditto, SS^JOJl Total 599,802/. ; and 
the remittances to New York for the same 
period were, first half-year, 116,087/.- second 
ditto, 116,900/.— Total, 232,987/.— making a grand 
total of ! ,051 604/. To carry on this extent of 
business very little cash is required— the principal 
circulation is paper notes and bills of Exchange, 

vol. 1. t 



THE CAN AD AS. 



and as is the case in every well regulated community, 
a large amount of trade is carried on by means of 
credit. The following shews the number of shares 
subscribed, in the several districts of the province, 
on the New Stock of the Bank of Upper Canada in 
August, 1S32 -.—York, No. 10,039, 125,487/.; Nia- 
gara, No. 6,841, 73,637^.; Brockville, No. 2,824, 
35,300/. 5 Kingston, No. 2,136, 26,700/. ,• Hamilton, 
No. 1,279, 15,987 I ; London, No. 1,020, 12,750/. , 
Cobourg, No. 633, 7,912/. , Cornwall, No. 560; 
7,000/. ; Perth, No. 806, 10,975/. 3 Amherstburg, No. 
91, 1,137/. Total No. of shares, 25,679— total 
amount, 320,987/. The government hold 2,000 
shares of the capital stock of the bank of Upper 
Canada, to the amount of 25,000/. currency, the 
whole of which has been paid in. The liabilities 
of the bank, are similar to those described under 
the head of Lower Canada. The rate and amount 
of the dividend on the 1st July, 1833, was four per 
cent, upon the capital paid in — making 5,239/. 
Amount of reserved profits, after declaring the 
same dividend, 6,661/. Amount of debts to the 
bank, and not paid, being over due, 23,075/. of 
which 572/. were considered doubtful or bad. 

Every commercial man will be able to estimate 
the progress of the colony, from the foregoing trading 
and monetary details. 



GOVERNMENT. 



275 



CHAPTER VIL 

THE GOVERNMENT, LAWS, MILITARY DEFENCE, AND FINANCES 
OF THE CANADAS. 

Government. — When Canada was in the posses- 
sion of the French, the Government was a pure 
despotism. In 1774 the first British Act of Parlia- 
ment was passed, fixing the boundaries of Canada — 
making provision for the better government of this 
part of His Majesty's dominions, and vesting the 
authority in a Governor, aided by a council of not 
less than 17 persons, and not exceeding 23 in 
number, who had power to frame ordinances, but 
not to levy taxes, except for making public roads, 
and erecting a few local structures. By this Act 
the English criminal law was preserved ; but it 
was enacted that f in all matters of controversy, re- 
lative to property and civil rights, resort should be 
had to the rule and decision of the laws of Canada 
— excepting however from this concession to French 
law, 6 lands which had been or should be granted in 
free and common soccage.' The Roman Catholic re- 
ligion, with all its immunities and rights, was secured 
to those of the Canadians who professed that faith. 

After an interval of 17 years, this Act was fol- 
lowed by Mr. Pitt's, or rather Lord Grenville's Act, 
styled the Constitution of 1791, under the provisions 
of which, Canada was divided into the upper and 
lower provinces. 



276 



THE CANADAS. 



Lower Canada received from this Act a Consti- 
tution, consisting of a Governor, and Executive 
Council of 11 members, appointed by the Crown, 
(similar to the Privy Council in England) — a Legis- 
lative Council appointed by mandamus from the 
King, forming the second estate, and at that time 
consisting of 15 members, but since increased to 34, 
and a Representative Assembly, or third estate, com- 
posed of 50 members, and consisting of four citizens 
from each of the cities of Quebec and Montreal, — 
three burgesses, (being two for the town of Three 
Rivers, and one for William Henry,*) and the re- 
maining number divided over the province as knights 
of the shire, representing 20 counties, into which 
Lower Canada was divided. Population was partly 
made the basis for regulating the division : thus a 
small and thickly-peopled territory on the banks of 
the St. Lawrence was found sufficient to form a 
county, and in the more distant parts, large areas 
were included in one county, in order to obtain the 
amount of population necessary to a representative 
election. 

The unequal manner in which this division into 
twenty one counties operated, from its having re- 
gard to population and not to area, was felt after a few 
years ; and it was set aside by the Provincial Act of 
9 Geo. IV., which subdivided Lower Canada into 40 
counties. 

The Constitution of the Lower Province as at pre- 
sent regulated, may be thus summarily stated. 
The authority of the Sovereign in Canada is limited 



* So called in honour of the visit of his present Majesty. 



GOVERNMENT. 



<277 



by the laws of Great Britain, and by the capitulations 
of the province. The supreme legislative authority, 
is in his Majesty and the two Houses of the Imperial 
Parliament : this authority is in like manner limited 
by the capitulations, and its own Acts • the most re- 
markable of which is the Act 18 Geo. III. cap. 12. 
confirmed by 31st Geo. III. cap. 13. which declares 
that ' no taxes shall be imposed on the colonies but 
for the regulation of trade, and that the proceeds of 
such taxes shall be applied to, and for the use of 
the province, in such manner as shall be directed by 
any law or laws which may be made by his Majesty, 
his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of 
the Province.'* 

The Provincial Legislature consists of his Ma- 
jesty, acting by the Governor of the province 5 — of 
a legislative council of 34 member f appointed by 
his Majesty for life 5 of a House of Assembly, of 
88 members, elected for four years by his Majesty's 
subjects resident within the province, who possess 
in the counties, property to the yearly value of 405. 
ster. ; in the towns to the yearly value of £5. ster., 
or paying rent to the amount of ^610. ster. The 
constituency of Lower Canada is very widely dif- 
fused — among the half million of people there are 
at least 80,000 electors of whom nine-tenths are pro- 

* This is one of the main points in which a large portion of 
the Canadians are at issue with the home Government : the 
former desire to have an entire control over all sums of money 
raised within the province, and free from any interference on 
the part of the parent State. 

f The Chief Justice and Protestant Bishop are members 



278 



The canadas. 



prietors of the soil j several counties have from 4 
to 5,000 electors, all of whom are landed proprie- 
tors. The total number of proprietors of real pro- 
perty in 1831, was 57,891 : and of persons holding 
property not otherwise than real, 25,208 5 of fa- 
milies employed in agriculture, 50,824 5 and of fa- 
milies engaged in commerce, only 2,503, The 
number of farm servants employed was 7602, which 
shows what a large proportion of the agriculturists 
are small farmers. The number of persons subsist- 
ing on alms, in a total population of upwards of half 
a million, was only 1282 3 and which, I suppose, 
included a large proportion of 408 deaf and dumb, 
334 blind, and 924 insane persons. 

No religious disabilities exist as to electors 5 but 
Clergymen or Jews are not eligible as representa- 
tives. The Assembly is empowered to make laws 
for 'the peace, welfare, and good of the govern- 
ment, of the province, such laws not being inconsis- 
tent with the Act of 31 Geo. III. c. 31.* The elec- 
tions are conducted by open voting. 

The Governor, in his Majesty's name, assembles, 
prorogues, and dissolves the two Houses, which 
must be called together once in every twelve calen- 
dar months. All questions arising in either of the 

* The Members of the House of Assembly have for the last 
three sessions, been allowed by grants of the Legislature, an 
indemnity of 10s. currency per diem, and 4s. per league as 
travelling expences from their places of residence to Quebec, 
where the sittings of the Legislature are held. The ses- 
sion of the Parliament of Lower Canada generally lasts three 
months, seldom more than four, and is held during the winter. 
The salary of the Speaker of the House of Assembly is £900, 
voted annually by the Provisional Legislature. 



GOVERNMENT. 



279 



two houses, are decided by the majority of the mem- 
bers present by open voting. The Governor gives, 
withholds, and reserves for the further signification 
of his Majesty's pleasure, the royal sanction to Bills 
proposed by the two other branches. Laws assented 
to by the Governor, may be disallowed by his Ma- 
jesty within two years. His Majesty may not as- 
sent to any Act or Acts affecting the dues of the 
clergy of the Church of Rome, or the established 
Church of England within the province, or the pro- 
visions made for the same, or the enjoyment or ex- 
ercise of any religious form or mode of worship, or 
creating penalties, burthens, disabilities, or disquali- 
fications on that account, or granting, or imposing 
any new dues in favour of any ministers of any 
former mode of worship, or affecting the prerogative, 
touching the granting of the waste lands of the 
Crown 5 until such Acts shall have been at least 30 
days before both Houses of the British Parliament, 
without either of the Houses having addressed his 
Majesty praying him not to sanction the same. 

Upper Canada. — The Government has been ad- 
ministered since 1791 by a Lieutenant-Governor, 
Executive and Legislative Councils, and a House 
of Assembly or Representatives. The Executive 
Council consists of six members chosen by the 
Crown and the Lieutenant-Governor, the presiding 
Councillor, is the Archdeacon of the Province. 

The laws in force in Lower Canada are : 1st, 
The Acts of the British Parliament which extend 
to the colonies : 2nd, Capitulations and treaties : 
3rd, The laws and customs of Canada, founded prin- 
cipally on the jurisprudence of the Parliament of 



280 



THE CANADAS. 



Paris, as it stood in 1663, the edicts of the French 
kings, and their colonial authorities, and the Roman 
civil law : 4th, The Criminal law of England, as it 
stood in 1774, and as explained by subsequent 
statutes : 5th, The ordinances of the governor, and 
council, established by the Act of the above year : 
6th, The Acts of the provincial legislature since 
1792. These laws are executed in his Majesty's 
name, and in virtue of his commission and instruc- 
tions, by the governor, or person administering the 
government, through the agency of a number of 
inferior officers, all of whom are appointed during 
pleasure. The governor besides possesses all other 
powers and prerogatives generally, which his Ma- 
jesty may legally enjoy, and may delegate to him.* 
The judiciary consists of a High Conrt of Appeal, 
a Court of King's Bench, presided over by a Chief 
Justice of the province, and three Puisne Justices 
for the district of Quebec 5 another Court of King's 
Bench for Montreal, with a Chief Justice and three 
Puisne Justices 5 there are three provincial courts, 
with a judge for Three Rivers, and terms of the 
Court of King's Bench, including the Provincial Judge 
for trials of causes above 10/., one for Gasp€, and 
one for the district of St. Francis. 

There are also a court of Vice Admiralty, Quarter 
Sessions, and other minor tribunals for civil matters. 
The Court of Appeal, the highest legal tribunal in 

* The governor of Lower Canada is Governor General of all 
the British Colonies in North America, and Commander-in- 
Chief of all the forces in those provinces ; I know not how 
far his power extends to Upper Canada, which has a Lieutenant 
Governor. 



GOVERNMENT. 



281 



the province, consists of the Governor (ex-officio 
President), the Lieutenant-Governor, Chief Justice 
of the province, the Chief Justice of Montreal, and 
the Members of the Executive Council, five of 
whom, including the President, are a competent 
quorum to hear and determine appeals from judg- 
ments pronounced in the courts of King's Bench in 
civil matters. Should the matter in dispute exceed 
500Z. in value, an appeal lies to the King and Privy 
Council j if below that sum, the decision of the Ca- 
nadian High Court of Appeal is final. 

The Canadian Court of King's Bench combines 
a jurisdiction similar to those of the King's Bench 
and Common Pleas at Westminster 5 it has distinct 
civil and criminal terms, and an appellate as well as 
an original jurisdiction • appeals lying, in certain 
cases, from the decisions of the provincial Judges, 
or inferior courts, over each of which a Puisne Judge 
presides 5 whose jurisdiction, in the district of Three 
Rivers, is limited to 10Z. sterling, (with the exception 
before explained,) in St. Francis, to 20Z. — but in 
Gaspe, by reason of its distance from the superior 
tribunals, it is extended to \OOl. 

The duties of the Vice Admiralty Court devolve, 
by commission, on a Judge Surrogate, who is also a 
Judge of the court of King's Bench 5 this union is 
justly considered objectionable, as the Court of 
King's Bench possesses a controlling power over the 
Admiralty court ; and, owing to the increasing com- 
merce of Quebec, it is desirable that the Vice Ad- 
miralty Judge should be unconnected with any other 
office. 



262 



THE CANADAS. 



The Court of Escheats was created by the 10th 
sec. 6 Geo. II. ch. 59 $ it consists of Commissioners 
appointed by the Governor to inquire, on information 
being filed by the Attorney- General, into the liability 
of lands to be escheated, by reason of the non-per- 
formance of the conditions on which they were 
granted. The decision is by a verdict of a jury com- 
posed of twelve men, summoned in the usual way ; 
and the lands forfeited become revested in the 
Crown.* 

The other courts being similarly constituted to 
those of the same name in England, require no ex- 
planation. The police of the country is adminis- 
tered by unpaid justices of the peace, of whom there 
are 1 1 in the Quebec district 2 1 5 in the Montreal ; 
44 in Three Rivers, 23 in Gaspe*, and 19 in St. 
Francis, exclusive of the members of the executive 
and legislative councils, the judges, &c. who are 
everywhere justices of the peace ex-officio. Trial 
by jury is universal in all criminal cases $ but in 
civil matters, the appeal to this mode of trial is con- 
fined by statute to certain cases, viz., the demand 
must exceed 10Z, sterling, the parties being mer- 
chants or traders, and the subject matter grounded 
on debts, promises, contracts, and agreements, of a 
mercantile nature only 5 or else the action must 
arise from personal wrongs, to be compensated in 
damages : in all other cases, the Bench are judges 
both upon the law and the fact, — a very small por- 
tion of these cases are tried by jury. Law proceed- 

* This Court exists only in name ; as yet, I hear, it has 
done nothing. 



GOVERNMENT* 



283 



ings are in French and English, and it is not unusual 
to have half the jury English and the other half 
French. Litigation is prevalent : there are about 
200 lawyers on the rolls of the Courts of King's 
Bench, who are solicitors and proctors as well as 
barristers : * the notaries, who are the conveyancers 
in the country, now form a distinct class, and are 
upwards of 300 in number. 

Of the laws it may be said, that the criminal is 
English, with some provincial statutes engrafted 
on it not repugnant thereto ; the admiralty is wholly 
English 5 the commercial laws of evidence are Eng- 
lish. Quebec and Montreal are corporate cities, 
having each a mayor and common council. 

In Upper Canada the laws are wholly English, and 
administered by a Court of King's Bench, with two 
Puisn£ Judges, and 11 District Judges. There are 
courts of Quarter Sessions, Bequests, &c. as in Eng- 
land, and there are about 500 unpaid magistrates. 

Landed Tenures. — Before closing this section, 
it will be necessary to advert to the peculiar state of 
the landed tenures in Lower Canada. When the 
country was first settled by the French, the feudal 
tenure was in full vigour on the continent of Europe^ 
and naturally transplanted by the colonizers to the 
new world. The King of France, as feudal lord,, 

* In the Quebec district there are 45 advocates, or barristers, 
43 advocates, or solicitors, and 128 notaries. In Montreal 
district 26 avocats, 60 advocates, and 164 notaries; and Three 
Rivers, St. Francis and Gaspe, 72, making a total of 538 law- 
yers ! 



284 



THE CANADAS. 



granted to nobles and respectable families, or to 
officers of the army, large tracts of land, termed 
seigniories, the proprietors of which are termed 
seigniors 3 these possessions are held immediately 
from the King, en fief, or en roture, on condition of the 
proprietor rendering fealty and homage, on accession 
to seigniorial property 3 and in the event of a trans- 
fer, by sale, or gift, or otherwise (except in heredi- 
tary succession), the seigniory was subject to the 
payment of a quint, or fifth part of the whole pur- 
chase-money 3 and which, if paid by the purchaser 
immediately, entitled him to the rabat, or a reduc- 
tion of two-thirds of the quint. This custom still 
prevails 3 the King of Great Britain having suc- 
ceeded to the claims of the King of France. 

Estimating the number of acres of land under 
cultivation in Lower Canada at 4,000,000, and the 
seignorial grants of good and bad land, at 10,000,000 
acres,it will be perceived that a large portion of ter- 
ritory is embraced under the seigniories. On this ac- 
count it will be necessary to give some explanation of 
the different terms used in relation to this property. 

Quints are a fifth part of the purchase money of 
an estate held en fief, which must be paid by the 
purchaser to the feudal lord, that is, the King: If 
the feudal lord believes the fief to be sold under value, 
he can take the estate to himself, by paying the 
purchaser the price he gave for it, together with all 
reasonable expenses.* Relief e is the rent or revenue 

* The Committee of the House of Commons in their Report 
on the affairs of Canada, in 1828, recommended the Crown to 
relinquish the quints. 



GOVERNMENT. 



285 



of one year for mutation fine, when an estate is in- 
herited only by collateral descent. Lods et ventes, 
are fines of alienation of one-twelth part of the 
purchase money, paid to the seigneur by the pur- 
chaser, on the transfer of property in the same 
manner as quints are paid to the King on the muta- 
tion of fief ; and are held en roture, which is an estate 
to which heirs succeed equally. Franc alea noble is 
a fief, or freehold estate, held subject to no seigno- 
rial rights or duties, and acknowledging no lord but 
the King. The succession to fiefs is different from 
that of property held en roture or by villainage. The 
eldest son, by right, takes the chateau, and the yard 
adjoining it ; also an arpent of the garden joining 
the manor-house, and the mills, ovens, or presses 
within the seigniory, belong to him ; but the profit 
arising from these is to be divided among the other 
heirs. Females have no precedence of right, and 
when there are only daughters, the fief is equally 
divided among them. When there are only two 
sons, the eldest takes two-thirds of the lands, besides 
the chateau, mill, &c, and the younger one-third. 
When there are several sons, the elder claims half 
the lands, and the rest have the other half divided 
among them. Censive is an estate held in the feudal 
manner, subject to the seigniorial fines or dues. All 
the Canadian habitans, small farmers, are censitaires. 
Property, according to the laws of Canada, is either 
propre, that is held by descent, or acquits, which ex- 
presses being acquired by industry or other means. 
Communite de bien is partnership in property by 
marriage ; for the wife, by this law, becomes an 



£86 



THE CANADAS. 



equal partner in whatever the husband possessed 
before, and acquires after marriage, and the hus- 
band is placed in the same position in respect to 
the wife's dowry. This law might operate as well 
as most general laws do, if both mari and femme 
died on the same day ; but very unhappy conse- 
quences have arisen when one has predeceased the 
other. For instance, when the wife dies before the 
husband, the children may claim half of the father s 
property, as heirs to the mother ; and the mother's 
relations have often persuaded, and sometimes com- 
pelled them so to do.* 

The dot or dowry, is the property which the wife 
puts into the communite du bien: moveable or immo- 
vable property, falling to her by descent, is a propre, 
and does not merge in the communite. Dower in 
Canada, is either customary or stipulate. The first 
consists of half the property which the husband was 
possessed of at the time of marriage, and half of all 
the property which he may inherit or acquire — of 
this the wife has the use for life, and the children may 
claim it at her death. If they be not of age, the 
wife's relations, as guardians of the children, can 
take it out of the father's hands, and may compel 

* I am indebted to Colonel Bouchette and Mr. Mc Gregor for 
many valuable remarks on this subject ; the latter observes, 
that it would be almost impossible to have formed a law more 
fruitful of family discord, or more destructive of that affection 
which ought to subsist between parents and children. So 
fully sensible, in fact, are the most simple habitans of the 
unhappy operation of this law, that scarcely any of them mar- 
ry without an ante-nuptial contract, which bars the communite 
du bien. 



GOVERNMENT. 



287 



him to sell his property to make a division. Stipu- 
lated dower is a portion which the husband gives 
instead of the customary dower. 

Those farmers who hold land from the seignieur 
en roture, and who are termed tenanciers or censitaires, 
are subject to certain conditions, viz. a small annual 
rent, from <2s. 6d, to 55. (or perhaps more of late 
years) for each arpent in front 5 * to this are added 
some articles of provision annually — such as a pig 
or goose, or a few fowls, or a bushel of wheat, ac- 
cording to the means of the farmer, who is also 
bound to grind his corn at the moulin banal, or the 
seignieur s mill, when one-fourteenth is taken for the 
lord's use, as mouture or payment for grinding. The 
lods et ventes form another part of the seignieur' s 
revenue : it consists of a right to one-twelth part 
of the purchase-money of every estate within his 
seigniory, that changes its owner by sale, or other 
means equivalent to sale : this twelfth to be paid by 
the purchaser, and is exclusive of the sum agreed 
on between the latter and the seller, and if promptly 
paid, a reduction of one-fourth is usually made, in 
the same manner as two -thirds of the quints due to 
the Crown are deducted on prompt payment. On 
such an occasion, a privilege remains with the seig- 
nieur, but is seldom exercised, called the droit de re- 
trait, which confers the right of pre-emption at the 

* The Canadian farms are remarkable for the small breadth 
•of the farm on the bank of the river, and its great depth in- 
land ; the latter being often in proportion to the former as 
-sixty to one ; namely, half an arpent broad in front of the St, 
Lawrence, or other river, and 30 arpents in depth. 



2S8 



THE CAXADAS. 



highest price offered, within forty days after the sale 
has taken place. 

All the fisheries within the seigniories contribute 
also to the lord's income, as he receives a share of 
the fish caught, or an equivalent in money : the 
seignieur is also privileged to fell timber any where 
within his seigniory, for the purpose of erecting mills, 
constructing new or repairing old roads, or for other 
works of public and general utility. In addition to 
the foregoing burdens on the farmer, he is, if a Ro- 
man Catholic, bound to pay to his curate one twenty- 
sixth part of all grain produced, and to have occa- 
sional assessments levied on him for building and 
repairing churches, parsonage houses, &c. 

The duties of the seignieur to his tenants are also 
strictly defined, — he is bound in some instances to 
open roads to the remote parts of his fief, and to 
provide mills for the grinding of the feudal tenants' 
corn 3 — he cannot dispose by sale of forest lands, 
but is bound to concede them 3 and upon his refusal 
to do so, the applicant may obtain from the Crown 
the concession he requires, under the usual seignorial 
stipulations, in which case the rents and dues ap- 
pertain to the King. 

It will be perceived that the seignieurs of Lower 
Canada are the counterpart of those feudal barons 
so charmingly described by Sir Walter Scott, in 
various parts of his picturesque works 3 and not- 
withstanding the apparent disadvantages of the 
system, the habitans, as the French Canadians are 
termed, are strongly prepossessed in favour of its 
continuance, and averse to the free and common 



GOVERNMENT. 



289 



soccage tenure introduced about 30 years after the 
British conquest in 1759 — since which time little or 
no land has been granted, subject to the seignorial 
or feudal privileges just described, but all on free or 
common soccage terms. The soccage tenure, like 
franc aleu roturier,* leaves the farmer or landholder 
wholly unshackled by any conditions whatsoever, 
as to rents, corvees, mutation fines, banalete (corn 
grinding obligation,) without in fact any other ob- 
ligation than allegiance to the King, and obedience 
to the laws. The quantity of land thus granted in 
Lower Canada amounts to upwards of 7,000,000 
acres — while under the seignorial grants, there are 
nearly 11,000,000 acres held by a vast number of 
small proprietors. 

From the earliest period, the Government were 
desirous of converting the seigniorial into soccage 
tenures, but nothing compulsory has been attempted. 
In 1825, an act was "passed (6th Geo. IV. c. lix.) for 
the gradual extinction of the feudal rights, and en- 
abling seignieurs to release themselves from the 
feudal burthens (qui?its, &c.) due to the Crown, and 
for granting their lands in free and common soccage 
to tenants, who were also to be released from their 
feudal burdens j which act, while it provided for the 
voluntary surrender by the seignieur, of his rights, 
also gave the tenant in fief a right to claim exemp- 
tion of burthens from the seignieur ; who, on re- 

* According to the Coutume de Paris, the ' Franc aleu ro- 
turier est terre sans justice ^ou seignieurie pour laquelle le 
detenteur ne doit cens, rentes, lods et ventes, ni autres rede- 
vances.' 

vol. t. u 



290 



THE CANADAS. 



fusal, was subject to be impleaded in a court of law. 
and bound, on a commutation fixed and given, to 
grant his lands on soccage tenures. But this act 
has, with two exceptions, been of no effect 3 the 
Canadians are peculiarly attached to ancient customs, 
— they contend that a conversion of tenure is equiva- 
lent to a conversion of law, as the descent by in- 
heritance would be altered, and with it the whole 
body of the law applicable to real property. It is, 
therefore, probable that the old tenures, en roture, 
will remain, and those in soccage are not likely to 
be converted into the former by the present genera- 
tion. 

Military Defence. — Lower Canada possesses 
an extensive militia, offering a most effectual 
means of organizing the numerical strength and 
physical energies of a people, to repel invasion or 
aggression. By means of a militia, such as that 
organized in Canada, and in several of our colonies, 
the higher and lower ranks of the community are 
brought into immediate contact, the patriotic feel- 
ings of the one class act on the minds of the other, 
and a degree of order is the result, highly advanta- 
geous to the stability of the social fabric. As pre- 
viously stated, England mainly owes the present 
possession of Canada to the gallant conduct of the 
Canadian militia, who so nobly exerted themselves, 
on two occasions, to drive the Americans from their 
territory ; confiding still in that militia, now that its 
numbers and intelligence are daily augmenting, I 
have little fear that as long as Britain acts with jus- 
tice towards the Canadians, she has nothing to fear 



MILITARY DEFENCE. 



291 



from the jealousy of the United States, or the hos- 
tility of any European power. 

In 1807, the militia men hearing arms consisted 
of 50,000 ahle bodied soldiers, with a due propor- 
tion of officers, who possessed as their own property, 
(*. e. independent of the arms furnished by govern- 
ment) 10,000 muskets. From this period to 1815, 
their numbers were little increased ; but in the re- 
port of a Special Committee of the Assembly ap- 
pointed in 1827 to enquire into the state of the 
militia, which is now before me, I find the following 
statement : — Quebec, 31,508 ; Three Rivers and St. 
Francis, 13,004 5 Gaspe, 1536 5 Montreal, 47,797 5 
Total, 93,854. 

By the militia Act, every able-bodied male inha- 
bitant, from 18 to 60 years of age, after six months' 
residence, is liable to serve in the militia, unless 
specially exempted by law 3 the exceptions embrace 
the clergy, civil and military officers of His Majesty's 
Government, physicians, surgeons, schoolmasters, 
stewards of religious communities, students in col- 
leges and seminaries, notaries, lancl surveyors, ferry- 
men, millers, &c. and persons who had served as 
officers of militia previous to the Act . The officers are 
appointed by the government 3 the qualification for 
those above the rank of captain being a bona fide 
possession of an estate yielding 50Z. currency per 
annum 3 half the sum qualifies for a captain's or 
subaltern's commission. There is an annual muster 
by companies (29th June) throughout the province. 
The light cavalry, artillery, and rifle corps, would 
do honour to any military power in Europe 3 and 



THE CAN AD AS. 



there is an esprit du corps throughout the service, 
highly honourable to all the members of a force, 
which, with readiness, could turn out nearly 100,000 
armed men to repel invasion, if the Americans should 
ever again feel disposed to attempt the conquest of 
Canada. 

The King's troops in Lower Canada, generally 
amount to three regiments of infantry, two compa- 
nies of foot artillery, and two companies of the 
royal engineers 5 the head-quarters of two regiments 
are at Quebec, and of one at Montreal. The im- 
pregnable fortifications of Quebec I have already 
detailed ; the island of St. Helens, near Montreal, is 
also strongly defended, and there are some posts 
near the American frontier, on Lake Champlain. 
Quebec, however, is the key both to Lower and 
Upper Canada j the command of that post is suffi- 
cient, without the occupation of minor fortresses. 
The Governor of Quebec garrison is a Major- Gene- 
ral, and the Lieutenant-Governor holds the rank of 
Lieutenant-General. The head-quarters of the Com- 
missariat, and other militry departments, for Upper 
and Lower Canada, are in the Lower Province. The 
naval station of our North American colonies is Ha- 
lifax,- Nova Scotia. 

The barracks at Quebec (formerly the Jesuit's 
College,) which the troops at present occupy, are 
situate nearly in the centre of the Upper Town, 
forming the west side of the Market-square 5 the 
building is of a quadrangular figure, of stone, three 
stories high, with a large open space in the centre, and 
is capable of containing 1500 men. The armoury at 



REVENUE. 



293 



Quebec is very extensive, and in excellent order : 
and the several departments of the army, medical, 
commissariat, &c. are well attended to. The follow- 
ing is a return of the British troops in the Canadas 
at intervals since 1816, including artillery and en- 
gineers. 



YEARS. 



January 25, 1816. 

1821. 

1827. 

January 1, 1833. 

The regular troops classified in the foregoing table, 
are dispersed throughout the Upper and Lower .Pro- 
vinces according to circumstances. In Upper Ca- 
nada, there are 60 regiments of enrolled and em- 
bodied militia — with a Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, 
a Major, 10 Captains, 10 Lieutenants and 10 Ensigns 
to each regiment, the whole forming an available 
force of upwards of 50,000 ; as gallant soldiers as 
could be found in any part of Europe. 

Finances — Lower Canada. — The Canadians de- 
fray the whole expenses of the Civil Government j 
they are free from debt, are not heavily taxed, and 
have a large surplus revenue for public improve- 
ments. From 1815 to 1831 the House of Assembly 
in Lower Canada has caused half a million sterling 
of the colonial revenue, to be expended in making 
roads and canals. The income of the State is gra- 
dually on the increase, as the following statement 



1 Colonels. 


| Lt. -Colonels. 


Majors. 
Captains. 


CO 

a 

<u 
d 

CD 


'x 

a 


| Paymasters. 


| Adjutants. 


Qr. Masters. 


| Surgeons. 


| Asst. Surg-eons. 


| Sergeants. 


| Drummers. 




9 


14 91 


201 


76 


8 


13 


13 


10 


. 

19 


592 


246 




5 


8 41 


65 


34 


5 


5 


4 


3 


7 


174 


101 


1 


'' 


6(44 


50 


21 


5 


5 


5 


5 


6 


171 


59 


1 




5 35 


46 


13 


5 


5 


5 


5 


7 


159 


57 



294 



THE CAN AD AS. 



satisfactorily demonstrates : 1821, 52,532/. 3 1823, 
133,333/. 3 1825, 96,627/. 3 1827, 95,980/. 3 1828, 
108,425/. 5 1830, 213,295/. 3 1831, 157,154/. 3 1833, 
200,000/. 

The revenue of lower Canada for the year ending 
10th October, 1834, was 227,314/. currency, of 
which 30,000/. was paid to Upper Canada, being 
the proportion of the Custom duties which it is en- 
titled to receive. 

The largest portion of the revenue is derived from 
the Custom duties : the territorial and casual reve- 
nue being about 5000/. per annum : the duties on 
spirits and wines about 50,000/. The lightness of 
the Custom dues is shown by the following rate 
of taxation levied, viz : on sugar, 1 jd. per lb. 3 do. 
refined, 1 d. : tea per lb., hyson, 6d. 3 bohea, 2d. 3 
all other sorts, Ad. 3 coffee per lb. 2d. 3 wine, rum, 
brandy or Geneva, per gal. 6d. 5 Whiskey, do. 3d. 3 
tobacco, manufactured, per lb. 3d. 3 snuff, do. Ad. 3 
Pimento do. \ \d. 3 cocoa, per cwt. 5s. : salt per pk. 
2c?. 3 and upon all other goods, wares, or merchan- 
dize (not included under the free trade goods or 
otherwise,) 2^ per cent. 

Expenditure. — The accounts which we have of 
the past are vague and imperfect 3 the total Civil 
expenditure of Lower Canada was in 1794, 23,768/. 3 
1799, 28,967/. 3 1S04, 39,364/. 3 1809, 50,06//. 3 
1814, 186,106/. 3 1816, 88,745/., being at the aver- 
age rate of upwards of 64,000/. per annum. 

I have no return from 1816 to 1821, when I find 
the following statement commencing with the latter 
year, and ending in 1831 :— 



REVENUE. 



295 



Civil Expenditure.— 1821, 79,911/. 3 1S25, 
64,194/. 5 1828, 68,267/. 5 1831,174,799/. 

Military do.— 1821, 1S64Z. : 1825, 1848/. 5 1828, 
900/. : 1831, 1974/. 

Upper Canada. — The income of the Upper Pro- 
vince consists of one-third of the custom duties levied 
at Quebec and Montreal, together with the proceeds 
of a duty upon shop and tavern licences for vending 
of spirits, and those of distillers, hawkers, pedlars, and 
auctioneers, and a duty upon certain imports from 
the United States, paid by the importer. These form 
the public resources of the province, and are at the 
disposal of the Provincial Legislature, for the pay- 
ment of public officers, and for such general pur- 
poses as may be deemed essential to the welfare of 
the people, and the interest of the province. 

The following is the abstract for 1833, of the sums 
paid into the Receiver- General's office. — From Lower 
Canada 41,416/. ditto ditto difference between one 
third and one fourth, per award 13,803/. 3 Bank Stock 
Dividend 2,CfOOZ. 3 ditto Bonds 1,500/. 5 Duties on 
Imports from United States 5,580/. 3 Duties on ditto 
of Salt from ditto 1,782. 3 Hawkers and Pedlars' 
Licences 393/. 3 Auction Duties 51 1/. 3 Light House, 
York 54/. 3 Shop, Tavern, and Still Licences 5,905/. 3 
Burlington Bay Tolls 915/. 3 Ale and Beer Licences 
2/. 3 Interest on Loans 371/. 

It will be observed, that the largest part of the 
income of Upper Canada arises from the duties 
paid in Lower Canada, at the ports of Montreal 
and Quebec 3 the internal revenue of the province 



296 



THE CANADAS. 



consists of duties levied on spirits, both on the dis- 
tillation and sale, on the importation of salt (six- 
pence per bushel) from the United States 3 on 
licences to auctioneers, innkeepers,* pedlars, haw- 
kers, &c. ; and some tolls, levied at the Burlington 
Bay Canal. 

Tavern and Shopkeepers Licences. — Persons keep- 
ing an inn or tavern must be licensed by the ma- 
gistrates, and the license costs, III. 55. per annum. 
The penalty for retailing without a licence is 20/. 
Shopkeepers can take out a licence, which costs 
52. 3s. for selling spirituous liquors, wines, &c, in 
quantities not less than one quart. The penalty for 
selling without a licence, or in quantities less than 
a quart, is 9,01. 

A revenue is also derived from the lands sold to 
the Upper Canada Company. The first instalment, 

* There are 840 innkeepers, who pay each from 31. to 10/. 
the duty amounting to 3,643/. ; and 443 shopkeepers, licensed 
to sell spirituous liquors, who contribute 1,505/. ; the number 
of stills, in gallons measure, is 5,846, paying 730/. ; and three 
steam-boats to pay 15/., being a total currency on those four 
items of 5,394/. — gross, or deducting the allowance to in- 
spectors, 565/. — 4,829/. Salt, imported from the United 
States, yields, 1,617/.; and the expense of collection is 382/., 
leaving net 1,235/. The hawkers and pedlars on foot pay 5/. 
annually; and those who travel with one horse, 10/.; two 
horses, 15/.; the gross amount of revenue from this source is 
520/. — (collector's allowance, 26/.); net 494/.; levied on — 
41 foot pedlars, 30 one-horse pedlars, there being only one 
pedlar or hawker with two horses. The number of auctioneers 
is 23, who pay yearly 5/. for a license, together with duty on 
sales ; which, for 1832 amounted to 251/. 



REVENUE. 



297 



paid on the 29th July, 1827, amounted to 20,000/. ; 
in 1833, 18,000/. 3 and in lieu of sundry fees, &c. 
1,7761. ; the total in seven years was 117,776/. 
In 1 834, the amount payable by the Company was 
19,500/., and every subsequent year 20,000/. until 
the whole sum of 348,680/. be paid in 1842. 

Post-office. The post-office receipts for Upper 
and Lower Canada in 1831 were as follow ; in Upper 
Canada, Letters, 9870/. Newspapers, &c. 790/. In 
Lower Canada, Letters, 10,494/. Newspapers, &c. 
566/. 

The letter postage includes the British and sea 
postage, as well as the internal rates in the pro- 
vinces. 

The nett proceeds, after defraying the expenses 
of the establishment in the provinces, and the con- 
veyance of the mails, &c, are remitted to the Ge- 
neral Post Office, London. 

The gross amount of Newspaper Postage paid by 
printers or proprietors of newspapers in the Ca- 
nadas, in 1831. was 1022/. 

The Local Taxes or District Rates are col- 
lected from each individual, at the rating of one 
penny in the pound, according to the quantity of 
land and other property he may possess, agreeably 
to the assessed value fixed by law, viz. — 

Every acre of arable pasture or meadow land, 1/.; every 
acre of uncultivated land 45. ; every town lot, 50/. 

Every house built with timber squared or hewed on two 
sides, of one story, with not more than two fire-places, 201. ; 
for every additional fire-place, 4/. Every house built of 
squared or flattened timber on two sides, of two stories, with 
not more than two fire-places, 30/. ; for every additional fire- 



298 



THE CANADAS. 



place, 8/. Every framed house under two stories in height, 
with not more than two fire-places 35/. for every additional 
fire-place, 51. Every brick or stone house of one story, and 
not more than two fire-places, 40/.; every additional fire- 
place, 10/. Every framed brick or stone house of two stories, 
and not more than two fire-places, 60/. ; for every additional 
fire-place, 10/. Every grist mill, wrought by water, with one 
pair of stones, 150/.; for every additional pair, 50/. Every 
merchant's shop, 200/. Every store-house, 200/. Every 
stone-horse, 199/. For every three-year-old and upwards, 8/. 
Oxen of the age of four years and upwards, 4/. Milch 
cows, 3/. Horned Cattle from two to four years and up- 
wards, 41. Every close carriage with four wheels, kept for 
pleasure, 100/. Every open carriage, or curricle, ditto, 25/. 
Every other carriage, or gig, with two wheels, ditto, 20/. 
Every waggon kept for pleasure, 15/. Every stove erected 
and used in a room, where there is no fire-place, is considered 
a fire-place. 

Highway Rates. — Every person inserted on the 
assessment roll is, in proportion to the estimate of 
his property, held liable to work on the highways 
or roads in every year, as follows :— 

If his property be rated at 25/., 2 days; do. 25/. to 50/., 3 
days; do. 50/. to 75/., 4 days; do. 75/. to 100/., 5 days; do. 
100/. to 150/., 6 days; do. 150/. to 200/., 7 days; do. 200/. to 
250/., 8 days; do. 250/. to 300/ , 9 days; do. 300/. to 350/., 
10 days; do. 350/. to 400/., 11 days; do. 400/. to 500/., 
12 days. 

For every 100/. above 500/., to 1000/. one day; for every 
200/. above 1000/., to 2000/. do. ; for every 300/. above 2000/., 
to 3000/. do. : for every 500/. above 3500/., do. 

Every person possessed of a waggon, cart, or team of horses, 
oxen, or beasts of burthen or draft used to draw the same, is 
held liable to work on the highways three days. Every male 
inhabitant, from 21 to 50, not rated on the assessment roll, is 
compelled to work on the highways three days. Persons emigrat- 
ing to this province, intending to become settlers, and not having 



REVENUE. 



299 



been resident six months, are exempt ; and all indigent persons, 
by reason of sickness, age, or numerous family, are exempt at 
the discretion of magistrates. Any person liable, may com- 
pound, if he thinks fit, by paying 5s. per day for each cart, &c, 
and 2s. 6d. for each day's duty ; to be paid within ten days 
after demand made by an authorised surveyor, otherwise the 
magistrates can issue their distress for double the amount, with 
costs. Members of the House of Assembly for townships, are 
paid 105. per day during the sitting of the House, from an 
assessment upon the inhabitants, apportioned according to the 
foregoing scale. Members for towns are not paid. A police 
tax, of 100/. per annum, is raised from the inhabitants of 
York, (Toronto) according to the same assessment scale. 

Expenditure. — A document prepared at the Co- 
lonial Office states, in pounds sterling, the gross 
expenditure and revenue of Upper Canada, for 1831, 
thus : — Revenue, 102,2892. 3 Civil Expenditure, 
98,9282. 3 Military, 20072. 3 Total, 101,0352. 

For the year 1833 the Expenditure was, Civil 
List estimate, 9,3792. 3 for Officers of the Le- 
gislature, 8902. 3 Contingencies of the Legislature, 
5,0002. 3 Permanent Salaries, 7,2232. 3 Arrears of 
1832, 4,9292. 3 Common School Appropriations, 
2,9002. District Schools, 1,1002. 3 Militia Pensions, 
1,0002. 3 Adjutant- General's Establishment, 6502. 3 
Inspector-General's ditto, 7782, 3 Agricultural So- 
cieties, 6002. 5 six Pensioners, 1202. 3 Clerk in 
Chancery, 752. 3 Lighthouses, 7602. 3 Harbour at 
Kettle Creek, 1,5002.3 Kingston Hospital erection, 
2,0002. : Redemption of Debentures, 18,8902. and 
Interest on Public Debt, 8,3032.— Total, 66,5002. 

As considerable interest is felt, respecting the 
debt which Upper Canada is incurring for public 
works, I subjoin the following detail, as printed in 



300 



THE CANADAS. 



the proceedings of the House of Assembly in 1833. 
The total amount outstanding of debentures in pro- 
vincial currency is 138,833 /., at an interest of five 
and seven-eighths per cent, per annum ; 52,666/. in 
debentures, bearing six per cent., have been re- 
deemed—namely, 25,000/. for the Militia ; 16,000/. 
for the Public Service in 1824 ; 3,000/. of the Bur- 
lington Canal 3 and 8,6661. of the Welland Canal : 
of the debentures outstanding the several amounts 
are, Burlington Canal, 5,000/, 3 Welland ditto, 
16,334/. 3 Burlington ditto, 4,500Z. 3 Welland ditto, 
50,0002. 3 Kettle Creek Harbour, 3,000/. 3 Welland 
Canal, 25,000/.; Burlington ditto, 5,000/. 5 Oak- 
ville Harbour, (loan to Mr. Chisholm,) 2,500/.; 
Roads and Bridges, 20,000/. 3 Kettle Creek Har- 
bour, 2,500/. 5 Port Hope Harbour, 2,000/. 3 and 
Coburg Harbour Loan, 3,000/. — Total, 191,500/. 
The interest is paid half yearly as the debentures 
fall due, and their amount varies from 25 to 100/. 

In 1833 the Provincial Legislature authorized the 
borrowing of money by debentures, to the extent of 
70,000/., to be applied to the improvement of the 
St. Lawrence, but only to bear 5 per cent, interest, 
and not the usual interest of 6 per cent. 3 the con- 
sequence was, that the loan could not be raised in 
either of the Canadas, or in the United States. 
Mr. Dunn, the Receiver- General, was sent to Eng- 
land, and subsequently authorised to negotiate a 
loan with the House of Thomas Wilson and Co. 
to the amount of 200,000/. paying interest 5 per 
cent, in London? or 6 per cent, in Canada, for 
the purpose of redeeming the debentures that have 



REVENUE. 



301 



been issued from year to year for the Welland Canal, 
&c., as stated above. The legislature of Upper 
Canadahas also sanctioned the borrowing of 350,000/. 
for making the St. Lawrence navigable for ships, 
from Montreal into Lake Ontario : of 50,000/. to 
pay the debts due by the Welland Canal, and to 
keep it in repair : — and of 45,000/. for making 
roads and bridges in the province 5 these sums, 
together with the existing debt of 258,138Z. will 
make the whole (including minor items) upwards 
of 800,000/. 

I have been rather minute in the foregoing de- 
tails, in order that intending emigrants may see the 
state of the finances of the country in which they 
are about to settle. 

Expenditure incurred by Great Britain. — The 
largest item is for the troops, which amounted in 
1832, according to the document printed by the 
House of Commons in 1834, to 208,248/. for both 
provinces. The details are given in the large 
edition of this work, and in my Colonial Policy. 
An annual sum is voted, in the British Parliamen- 
tary estimates, for the Indians, which is thus divided 
between Upper and Lower Canada. Lower Canada, 
in the year ending 31st March, 1835, obtained 
1813Z. 5 which was distributed as follows ; to the 
secretary, 239 1. $ superintendants, 239/. ; interpreter, 
Quebec, 107/. 5 do. do., 102/. ; missionary, 75/. , 
do. do , 50/. ; schoolmaster, 20/. 5 a superintendant 
at Montreal, 231/. 5 three interpreters, 102/. each • 
a resident, 131/. ; two missionaries, 50/. each ; and 
one at 45/. There is a nearly similar establishment 



302 



THE CANADAS. 



for Upper Canada, of which the salaries are 1757/. 5 
and the pensions for wounds and long services, 
572 /. The total expense of Indian presents, stores, 
&c, for the year ending April, 1845, is 15,856/. ; 
making a grand total, in the miscellaneous British 
Parliamentary estimates, of 20,000/. 

There is also voted in the British Parliamentary 
estimates for the year ending March, 1 836, a sum of 
6,540/. for the Clergy of North America, of which 
the Protestant Bishop receives 3,000/. per annum : 
the Roman Catholic Bishop 1,000/. 5 the Archdeacon 
of Quebec 500/. j the Rector of Do. 400/. ; and 
the remainder is divided between ten Protestant 
Clergymen, of whom three are Presbyterians. The 
expense of the water communication in Canada, 
as defrayed by Great Britain is thus shewn : — 

An estimate of the sum that will be required 
between the 1st April, 1835, and 31st March, 1836, 
on account of the Canal Communications in Canada, 
34,511/. 

The amount required to defray the expenditure 
up to the period of completing the works of both 
lines of canal 1,045,126/. The amount required 
on account of compensations to individuals, for 
losses sustained and lands taken, according to the 
best estimates that can now be formed, 23,900/. 
The amount expended in maintaining and repairing 
the canals, up to September, 1834, 19,911/. The 
amount estimated to be necessary on this account, 
during the years 1835-6, 8,365/. Total 1,097,302/. 
Towards w T hich there has already been granted : — 
On account of the works of the canals 1,032,765/. 



REVENUE. 



303 



On account of the maintenance and repair 18,800/. 
And the produce of the tolls and rents, to Sept. 

1834, has been 7,8261. Estimated produce for 

1835, at the rate 3,400/. Total 1,062,791. Amount 
required 34,511/. 

The whole revenue raised in the Upper and 
Lower Provinces may be estimated in round num- 
bers, and on an average, at 300,000/. and as the 
population is about 900,000 the taxation is not 
7*. 6d. per head per annum". The charge on Great 
Britain is now not much more than 200,000/. per 
annum — so that the whole expenditure for nearly 
a million of people is but half a million a year, 
or 10.9. per head. This shews the lightness of the 
public burthens in Canada. 



304 



THE CAXADAS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

RELIGION EDUCATION AND THE PRESS SOCIAL STATE 

EMIGRATION WAGES, &C. 

The prevailing form of Religion in Lower Canada is 
the Roman Catholic, the clergy of which are edu- 
cated in Canada, and have no civil or secular con- 
nexion with the Pope ; they are not paid by govern- 
ment, but have for their support the twenty-sixth 
part of all the grain raised on the lands of the 
Catholics. Hay and potatoes are exempted from 
the charge, and if a Catholic turn Protestant, or sell 
his lands to a Protestant, the estate is no longer 
subject to this moderate burden. The Church is 
governed by a Bishop (a Canadian born and edu- 
cated), who receives, in addition to the rent of 
some lands of little value, a stipend of 1000Z. per 
annum from Great Britain. The incomes of the 
Cures average 300Z. per annum, by which they are 
enabled to live respectably, and even to practise 
hospitality ; and so long as they confine themselves 
to their religious duties, they invariably meet with all 
the respect which piety and philanthropy so well 
deserve. In Canada, Upper and Lower, as well as 
in our other colonies, great attention is paid to the 
observances of religion by people of every persua- 



RELIGION. 



305 



sion, more than I believe to be the case in the 
mother country. 

The bishop, or primate has two coadjutors or 
titular bishops, and four vicars general, and there 
are upwards of two hundred vicaires, cures, &c. 
Several religious communities exist, viz. the Hotel 
Dieu de Montreal, founded in 1664, and containing 
ST religieuses professes, the Congregation de Ndtre 
Dame H Montreal, with 80 professes ; the Hdpital- 
general de Montreal, with 29 professes ; the Hotel 
Dieu de Quebec, with 58 religieuses professes ; the 
Ursulines de Quebec, with 47 professes; and the 
Hopital- general de Quebec, with 51 professes : all 
these establishments have novices and postulants, 
and it is but justice to add, that the nunneries of 
Lower Canada are exemplary as to their manage- 
ment, and the piety and charity of their inmates. 

The church of England establishment consists of 
a bishop (of Quebec) and 40 clergymen. The 
Presbyterian clergymen of the Church of Scotland 
are about 14 in number, and there are 12 Wesleyan 
ministers. 

The ecclesiastical charges, voted in the last par- 
liamentary estimates, will be found under the head 
of Finance. 

The number of Churches in Lower Canada is 
about 30. One seventh of the whole of the lands 
in the townships is set apart for the Protestant 
church. 

In Upper Canada the prevailing form of religion 
is that of the Established church, which is under 
vol. i. x 



306 



THE CAN AD AS. 



the superintendence of the Bishop of Quebec, whose 
subordinates are the Archdeacons of Toronto and 
Kingston, and about 40 clergymen, — the number of 
Protestant churches in the province being about 
50. It is calculated that the area cf Upper Canada 
is 31,000,000 acres, of which 26,000,000 are capa- 
ble of cultivation. One-seventh of which, or 
3,700,000 are set apart for the maintenance of a 
Protestant clergy — that is, 18,000 reserved lots of 
200 acres each. Archdeacon Strahan says, that 
this is not an extravagant provision, for judging 
from what takes place in the United States, each 
lot will not produce in a century, 20/. per annum, 
making a total of 376,000/. which, divided among 
2000 clergymen, (a very small number for a country 
as large as England) gives only 188/. per annum to 
each minister. 

Independently of a clergyman of the established 
Church to each parish, there are ministers of several 
other persuasions. Of the Presbyterian Church, 
in connexion with the Church of Scotland, there 
are in Upper Canada, 21 ministers and preachers $ 
— of the United Synod of Upper Canada, 20 5 of 
the Roman Catholic Clergy, 20 5 namely, one bishop 
and 19 priests, with 35 chapels built and building. 
The bishop receives 500/. per annum from Govern- 
ment, and the clergy 1000/. a-year divided among 
them as a Government appropriation. The Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church consists of 18,451 members j 
in York there are 250 members divied into 14 
classes. The British Wesleyan Mission have three 



RELIGION. 307 

preachers ; The Primitive Methodists (whose doc- 
trines are the same as the Wesleyans, from whom 
they differ in some points of church government, 
their district and annual conferences being com- 
posed of two parts laymen, and one part travelling 
preachers, for the purpose of preserving a just equi- 
poise of power, and uniting all the intelligence and 
experience of their society in their church govern- 
ment) have five travelling and 14 local preachers, 
c 250 members, and 14 district congregations.* Of 
the Baptists there are about 40 or 50 churches in 
Upper Canada, and as many ordained ministers, 
besides 35 ordained preachers or licentiates. 

According to a recent Parliamentary Return, the 
40 working clergy of the established church, among 
the stations of Upper Canada, have stipends of from 
50/. to 130/. each, the majority being 100/. pay- 
able out of funds raised in the province $ the 23 
working clergy of the Romish Church, have sala- 
ries averaging 50/. each, and of the Church of 
Scotland there are 1 5 clergy with salaries of about 
60/. each, all paid out of funds raised in the 
province of Upper Canada : the Archdeacons of 
York and Kingston, have 300/. each 5 the Prelate 

* Recent accounts from Kingston state, that the long con- 
templated union, between the British Methodists and their 
more numerous Episcopalian brethren, has been accomplished. 
Episcopacy is to be renounced, and a president to be sent out 
annually from the British Conference, with power to direct 
the affairs of the Canadian Conference; the vacancies that may 
occur to be filled up indiscriminately by the British and Cana- 
dian Conferences. 



308 



THE CANADAS. 



of the Romish Church styled Bishop of Regiopolis, 
stationed at York, has a salary of 500/. The total 
clerical charges on the colonial revenue of Upper 
Canada for 1832 were — for the Church of England, 
4,430/. 5 Romish Church, 1500/. j Scotch Church, 
1 120/. Presbytery Synod of Upper Canada for 
salaries to ministers, 700/. ; Roman Catholics, 900/. ; 
British Wesleyan Methodists, 900/. ; Canadian Me- 
thodists, 600/. 5— Total, 10,150/. 

Education I am happy to say, is making rapid 
progress in both provinces, — the following is a 
recent General Statement of Education in the Pro- 
vince of Lower Canada, made from the Returns 
transmitted to the House of Assembly by the Visi- 
tors, named in virtue of the Act 1st William IV. 
chapt. 7. 



EDUCATION. 



309 



COUNTIES. 



c ^ 

o> o 
£ o 

ci Xi 
. o 

g-3 



Paying 5s. to 
7s. 6d. per 
Month. 



No. of 
Teachs 
ers. 



O fl 

.+3 O 



Bonaventure ... 


7 


203 






73 


5 


2 


8309 


235 


40 




4 








4 




5003 


298 


— 




18 


664 


137 


73 


565 


15 


4 


10061 


303 


15 


Kamouraska . . 


39 


1231 


118 


99 


1058 


21 


17 


14557 


428 


12 


L'Islet 


27 


994 


206 


195 


760 


18 


9 


13518 


540 


13 


Bellechasse 


54 


1642 


95 


123 


1535 


28 


26 


13529 


276 


8 


Dorchester .... 


27 


802 


134 


97 


635 


15 


12 


11946 


398 


15 




22 


542 


26 


62 


445 


12 


10 


11900 


177 


22 




4 


104 


8 


8 


94 


4 




2283 


134 


22 


Lotbiniere .... 


58 


1667 


122 


95 


1450 


36 


21 


9191 


191 


5 




27 


1091 


313 


140 


811 


16 


12 


12504 


227 


11 




18 


664 


62 


16 


626 


10 


8 


9499 


316 


14 


Drummond 


10 


342 


21 


29 


282 


8 


2 


3566 


178 


10 


Sherbrooke .... 


50 


1270 










49 


7104 


95 


5 


Stanstead 


69 


1976 










69 


10306 


166 


5 


Missis koui 


56 


1241 


458 


630 


139 


10 


46 


8801 


191 


7 


Shefford 


26 


595 


187 


216 


138 


2 


24 


5087 


212 


8 




17 


723 


148 


96 


478 


10 


7 


16149 


538 


19 


BourgdeSorel. . 


4 


116 


60 


8 


166 


3 


2 








St. Hyacinthe . . 


34 


1336 


473 


302 


847 


21 


13 


15369 


495 


11 




46 


1766 


422 


367 


1555 


22 


24 


18115 


463 


10 




13 


600 


127 


81 


249 


9 


4 


12319 


615 


20 




22 


844 


174 


107 


348 


18 


5 


15483 


496 


18 




28 


971 


276 


234 


482 


23 


8 


18497 


616 


19 




1 154 


231 


188 


/yu 


18 


JLo 


11419 




10 


Beauharnois . . 


41 


1514 


501 


436 


342 


33 


7 


16859 


330 


11 




12 


260 


H9 


89 


120 


11 




13111 


599 


50 




9 


241 


90 


96 




6 


3 


4786 


252 


20 


Deux Montagues 


37 


1332 


300 


225 


640 


27 


n 


20905 


486 


15 


Terrebonne 


15 


900 


160 


140 


600 


10 


5 


15623 


831 


18 




18 


650 


153 


112 


321 


13 


5 


9461 


450 


14 


L'Assom prion . . 


27 


889 


165 


141 


591 


14 


13 


12767 


354 


14 


Montreal, Cite. . 


54 


3840 


1245 


1743 


1097 


42 


56 


27297 




6 


Do. Comte 


21 


701 


142 


147 


666 


14 


7 


16476 




23 




37 
49 


1332 


306 


225 


643 


27 
29 


11 


20225 


412 


15 


St. Maurice .... 


1763 


363 


460 


1073 


23 


16909 


466 


10 


Champlain .... 


27 


826 


25 


11 


824 


12 


15 


. 6991 


249 


8 


Portneuf 


54 


1726 


180 


146 


1430 


35 


19 


12350 


280 


7 


Quebec, Cite . . 


49 


3413 


1018 


1556 


975 


38 


50 


27562 




8 


Do. Comte 


19 


623 


126 


131 


592 


13 


6 


8611 


539 


13 


Montmorency . . 


23 


773 


153 


97 


754 


13 


10 


3743 


220 


5 


Saguenay 


4 


237 


46 


39 


129 


4 


2 


8385 


399 


35 


Orleans 


9 


241 


115 


38 


212 


4 


4 


4349 


434 


18 




1216 


43799 


9015 


9001 


23805 


670 


635 


511919 







* One child attends school to the undermentioned proportion of 
population.— (Heading of the last column.) 



310 



THE CAN AD AS. 



The foregoing table speaks volumes in favour of 
the Canadian House of Assembly — a committee of 
which body thus reports on the subject — 

' In 1830, there were 981 schools ; in 1831, 1216 ; teachers 
in 1830, 947; in 1831, 1305; scholars in 1830, 41,791; in 
1831, 45,203 * 

' The number of scholars taught gratuitously has increased 
from 21,622, to 23,805. Those who pay, from 16,591 to 
18,016. 

' The whole amount of expenses for elementary schools, 
paid out of the public chest, in 1830, was about 20,000/.; in 
1831, it will be about 26,000, giving an average for each 
scholar, in 1830, of 10s. 4d. ; in 1831, of lis. 2d. 

' The proportion which the number of children, receiving 
elementary instruction, bears to the whole population, is about 
one in twelve throughout the province, instead of one in 
four, the proportion in the adjoining state of New York. The 
counties of Montmorency, Stanstead, Sherbrooke, and Lotbi- 
niere, are the only counties out of 41 where nearly all the 
children, of a fit age to attend school, are receiving a school 
education. In some counties only one child in 12, and one 
in 10, are at school. The average throughout the province of 
the children at school is one out of three.' 

The money paid towards public schools by the 
House of Assembly was, in 1829— 6439Z. ; 183D 
— 18,088Z.; 1831—17,3172.; 1832 — 23,324Z. j 
making in four years 65,16SZ. sterling, or 72,409/. 
currency, distributed through upwards of 2000 
schools annually. 

The lands granted to the Jesuits by the French 
Government, and which fell into the Crown on the 

* In 1829 the total number of children reported as receiv- 
ing elementary education was only 18,410, of which 3675 
were under the Royal Institution. 



EDUCATION. 



311 



demise of the last of the Jesuits in 1SOO, have been 
granted by the government for purposes of educa- 
tion. Under a very bad system of management, 
however, these lands did not yield 50,000/. from 
1800 to 1S31, 

Some alterations have been recently made for the 
purpose of distributing the elementary schools more 
equally over the province. The number of school 
districts, in 1833, was : — 

Bonaventure, 22 3 Gaspe, 14 3 Rimouski, 35 3 
Kamouraska, 34 3 L'Islet, 25 3 Bellechasse, 49 3 
Dorchester, 37 ; Beauce, 67 ; Megantic, 17} Lot- 
biniere, 41 3 Nicolet, 41 3 Yamaska, 27 ; Drummond, 
10 3 Sherbrooke, 51 3 Stanstead, 62 3 Missiskoui, 485 
ShefFord, 25; Richelieu, 29 3 St. Hyacinthe, 31 ; 
Rouville, 47 ; Vercheres, 17 ; Chambly, 35 3 La- 
prairie, 34 3 L'Acadie, 30 3 Beauharnois, 59 3 Vau- 
dreuil, 24 3 Ottawa, 19 3 T. Mountains, 49 3 Terre- 
bonne,, 23 3 Lachesnaye, 21 3 L'Assomption, 36 3 
Montreal, 18 3 Berthier, 48 3 St. Maurice, 36 3 
Champlain, 27 3 Portneuf, 45 3 Quebec, 23 3 Mont- 
morency, 19 3 Saguenay, 19 3 Orleans, 10. — Total, 
1295 school districts. 

For the higher branches of education there are 
various establishments 3 such as the Seminary of 
St. Sulpice, at Montreal 3 the New French College, 
at Montreal 3 M'Gill College, English, at the same 
place. 

There are French colleges, also, at Quebec, Cham- 
bly, Nicolet, and St. Hyacinthe 3 and there are many 
high class public and private schools. 



312 



THE CAN AD AS. 



In several of the colleges there are professorships 
of divinity, medicine, anatomy, philosophy, mathe- 
matics, &c, and the chairs are all ably filled. 

There are not such complete statistics showing 
the state of education in Upper Canada, as in the 
Lower Province, although upwards of half a million 
acres of land have been reserved for promoting 
public instruction, of which 225,944 have been re- 
invested in the Crown, in lieu of scattered reserves 
granted as an endowment to King's College j 66,000 
acres have been set apart for the benefit of Upper 
Canada College, and 258,330 disposable acres for 
the extension of education. The legislature also 
grants from 4000Z. to 8000Z. per annum. 

The annual charges for the Upper Canada College 
for 1832, were — Principal, 600Z. 5 Vice Principal, 
400Z. 5 Mathematical Master, 300Z. 5 two Classical 
do. 300Z. each 5 French Master, 200Z. ; Drawing 
do. 200Z. 5 Writing and Cyphering, do. 150Z. 5 Pre- 
ratory Master, 150Z. — Total, 2,600Z. There are up- 
wards of 100 scholars in the respective forms of the 
College. The terms at the Upper Canada College 
are 30Z. currency per annum for board and tuition, 
with some extra College dues. At the York National 
Central School, which gave instruction, in the year 
ending April 1833, to 402 boys and 235 girls, the 
terms for instruction to those who are unable to pay 
the higher terms, is one dollar per quarter 5 and no 
family is required to pay for more than two children, 
how many soever there be. 

The scholars at public or free schools, in which 



THE PRESS. 



313 



an academical education is given, are stated to have 
been in 1S32 thus distributed : — - 

Situation of Situation of 

District. School. Scholars. District. School. Scholars. 

Eastern .... Cornwall .... 40 Home .... York 

Ottawa Hawkesbury. . 30 Gore Hamilton 40 

Bathurst. . . . Perth 30 Niagara. . . . Niagara 26 

Johnstown . . Brockville. ... 35 London. . . . London 40 

Midland .... Kingston .... 46 Western . . . Sandwich . . . . 30 

Newcastle . . Cobourgh. ... 25 

In the common schools, there are 18,000 chil- 
dren, of both sexes receiving education. 

The Press. — This novel and extraordinary ele- 
ment of civilization, and adjunct of national, as well 
as protector of individual liberty, is making rapid 
progress in Canada ; where the journals are un- 
stamped, the paper without an exciseable duty, and 
the advertisements exempt from tax. I have no sepa- 
rate return of the increase of the press in each pro- 
vince : but in both together, the number of news- 
papers was, in 1827, 17 5 in 1828, 20 j in 1829, 275 
in 1830, 30 3 and in 1831, 37. This information 
is derived from Parliamentary Papers. I think I 
may add that the present number is about 50 5 
namely, 20 for Lower and 30 for Upper Canada. 

Newspapers published in Montreal, and their Po- 
litics : — 

1. Montreal Herald and Daily Commercial Gazette, 
published daily. (Tory.) 2. Montreal Herald, for 
the country, twice a week, (do.) 3. New Montreal 
Gazette, weekly, (do,) These three newspapers issue 
from the same press, — 4. Montreal Daily Advertiser, 
daily. (Neutral ) 5. The Courier, three times a 



314 



THE CANADAS. 



week. (Tory.) 6. The Weekly Abstract, from the 
Daily Advertiser. The three latter newspapers 
issue from the same press. The Courier is for 
country circulation ; and the Weekly Abstract be- 
ing filled chiefly with the commercial information 
of the week, is filed by the merchants, and sent to 
Europe to their correspondents. — 7. The Morning 
Sun, daily 5 containing advertisements only. 8. The 
Montreal Gazette, three times a week. (Tory), the 
oldest of the Montreal newspapers, and supposed to 
be the greatest in point of circulation. — 9. The Set- 
tler, twice a week. (Tory.) 10. The Vindicator, 
twice a week. (Whig.) The foregoing eight news- 
papers are all in English. — 11. L" Ami du Penple, in 
French, twice a week. (Tory.) 12. La Minerve, in 
French, twice a week. (Whig.) 

Published in Quebec : 
13. Quebec Gazette, by authority, once a week. 
(Neutral.) 14. Neilsons Quebec Gazette, daily. (Tory.) 

15. Quebec Mercury, three times a week,. (Tory.) 

16. Le Canadien, three times a week. (Whig.) The 
Gazette is in English and French. Neilsons Gazette 
is three days of the week in English, and the other 
three days in French. The Mercury is in English, 
and Le Canadien in French. 

In the Country : 
17. The Farmer s Advocate, or Township Gazette, 
published at Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships, 
in English, weekly. (Tory.) There were two other 
newspapers published in the Townships, the St. 
Francis Courier and Colonist : it is said that they 
were lately discontinued. — 18. LFcho du Pays, 



THE PRESS. 



315 



published at St. Charles, on the Richelieu, in French, 
weekly. (Whig.) 19. A new " Penny Magazine," 
printed in French, entitled L'Abeille Canadienne, is 
announced for publication j to be devoted to the in- 
terests of the people, but excluding politics. 

The newspapers just enumerated are all conducted 
with ability ; but, as may naturally be expected, with 
a good deal of party violence 5 the Whigs (4) sup- 
porting the House of Assembly, the Tories (10) the 
Government and Legislative Council. They are 
also abundantly supplied with advertisements 5 and 
as commercial speculations, independent of their 
value as political engines to either party, are found 
worthy the attention of capitalists. There are not 
at present, I believe, any monthly or quarterly 
journals."* 

The fine arts are making no inconsiderable pro- 
gress 3 f the Montreal Museum of Natural History, 
is increasing rapidly ; and the Quebec Literary and 
Historical Society, is rising into notice • hopes are 
entertained, that when the existence of these institu- 
tions is more generally known in England, books, 
tracts and manuscripts, &c. will be sent to them gra- 
tuitously from the mother country. There are se- 
veral public libraries 3 one in Quebec contains up- 
wards of 6,000 volumes of standard and valuable 

* I do not know whether the " Montreal Museum," a monthly 
journal devoted to literature, be in existence this year. The 
published proceedings of the Historical Society of Quebec, not 
being periodical, are not taken into account. 

f A concert was given during the present year, at Quebec, 
which would have been considered highly creditable in Paris or 
London. 



316 



THE CANADA S. 



works, and the Montreal public library is fast over- 
taking its elder brother of Quebec. The Mechanics' 
Institution, school societies, agricultural associa- 
tions, &c. all indicate the rapid progress of mind 
in Lower Canada. 

In Upper Canada the Press is also unstamped, 
paper unexcised, and advertisements free from tax 5 
the consequence is, a rapid increase of this neces- 
sary element of civilization. There are thirty news- 
papers in the province ; which have been thus 
classified on the occasion of Mr. Hume's recent 
letter ; eighteen support the existing state of things 
twelve oppose it. Three fully approved of Mr. 
Hume's letter, viz : the Correspondent, Advocate, and 
Reformer ; — three partly approved of it, viz : the 
Brockville Recorder, Spectator (Kingston), and 
St. Thomas Liberal. Six Whig papers were op- 
posed to it, viz : the Hamilton Free Press, British 
Whig (Kingston), British American Journal (St. Ca- 
tharines), Niagara Reporter, Christian Guardian, and 
Granville Gazette (Prescott) ; — as were also the fol- 
lowing Tory papers : Sandwich Emigrant, St. Thomas 
Journal, London Free Patriot, Western Mercury, Dun- 
das Post, Niagara Gleaner, Canadian Wesleyan, Ca- 
nadian Freeman, Patriot, Port Hope Wonder, Coburg 
Star, Belleville Standard, Hallowell Free Press, King- 
ston Chronicle, Kingston Herald, Cornwall Observer, 
and Upper Canada Courier ; one is omitted in the 
Canadian analysis 3 it is supposed the Toronto Re- 
corder, a new Journal.* 

* A late number of the Canadian Courier says : within the 
last ten or twelve days we have received a copy of the first 



SOCIAL STATE. 



317 



Another analysis states that ten Journals are Whig ; 
four ultra Tory 3 ten moderate Tory 5 two Orange, 
or of doubtful character 5 one Literary, and one 
Official. The circulation of the Whigs is the greatest, 
but their advertising patronage not equal to that of 
the Tories. The Newspapers published in Toronto 
in 1834, were the Christian Guardian, Colonial Ad- 
vocate, Canadian Correspondent, Patriot, Upper Ca- 
nada Gazette, Courier, and Canadian Freeman. There 
is also a Canadian Magazine 5 an Almanac or two 5 
and Annual Records, &c. 

In the capital there are an Agricultural Society, 
a Mechanics Institute, a Medico- Chirurgical Society, 
Literary and Philosophical do. 5 Savings' Banks 5 
various Hospitals and charitable institutions, and 
Schools 5 Temperance and Bible Societies, &c. 

Social State. — The facts developed in the pre- 
ceding pages, amply demonstrate the progress which 
the Canadas have made in all the elements of social 

number of no less than four new papers which have been esta- 
blished in different parts of the province, viz. — The Brockville 
Gazette, well edited, and a little ultra tory in its politics ; it 
has for its motto the following quotation from Bolingbroke : 
" Those who are preparing to build up a Government, should 
recollect that the Kingly power ought to form the basis, and 
the popular the superstructure ; for, if you place a republic as 
the basis, and afterwards build a monarchy upon it, your build* 
ing will fall into ruins on the slightest shock." The Phoenix, 
at Belville. The Hamilton Free Press, edited with spirit and 
ability. The London Sun is published in the new Town of 
London, in the township of London, county of Middlesex, and 
district of London. It is very gratifying to observe these new 
sources of intelligence opening to the public in the different 
sections of this thriving colony. 



318 



THE CAN ADAS. 



wealth 5 indeed in no country, ancient or modern, 
have there been such rapid strides in civilization, as 
Upper Canada in particular has made ; the progres- 
sive state of which may be estimated by the inland 
navigation now in full activity on Lake Ontario and 
the St. Lawrence, between Montreal and Kingston. 

I may here add, that there is a daily steam-packet 
between Montreal and Quebec (ISO miles), the usual 
fares for which were 9,0s. cabin, and 5s. steerage , 
but opposition has reduced the latter to Is. From 
the number of steam-boats building, in every direc- 
tion, and from the circumstance of the engines being 
now made at home, instead of in the mother coun- 
try, we may expect yet greater facilities for travelling 
and communication in Upper Canada. 

The stage and steam-boat line from Montreal to 
Prescott is the property of a joint stock company, 
under the title of " The Canada Steam -boat and Mail 
Coach Company." 

The number of horses on the line considerably 
exceeds a hundred, and the coaches are of sufficient 
number, at each station, to accommodate a large 
number of passengers. 

The steamer Henry Brougham is on Lake St. 
Louis. 

The Brockville new steamer, built at the flourish- 
ing town whose name she bears, is one of the most 
beautiful models, — length, 144 feet 5 breadth of 
beam, 2 C 2 feet 10 inches 5 breadth on deck, 45 feet ; 
and depth of the hold, 7 feet 6 inches in the clear. 
The promenade deck is 110 feet in length. She 
plies on Lake Ontario. 



SOCIAL STATE. 



319 



The Iroquois was the first boat that attempted to 
ascend the powerful rapids between the head of the 
Long Sault and Prescott. The engine of the Iro- 
quois is on the horizontal principle, with a large 
wheel in the stern j her rudder is also on a novel plan, 
adapted to the navigation in which she is employed, 

Galoup Rapid, and the Rapid Plat, can now be 
ascended with ease, — a part of the St. Lawrence, pro - 
verbial for the extraordinary rapidity of its currents, 
and the romantic beauty of the surrounding scenery. 

The United Kingdom is one of 120-horse power, 
high pressure. She leaves Prescott every Monday 
afternoon, touching at Kingston, Toronto, and ar- 
riving at Niagara every Wednesday evening. 

The Cobourg is 152 feet in length on deck ; 36 
feet in breadth of beam ; 11 feet in hold 3 and 418 
tons burthen, by admeasurement. She is propelled 
by two low pressure 50-horse power engines. She 
leaves Prescott on her upward trip (on the arrival of 
Wednesday's stages from Montreal) every Thursday 
evening, arriving at Niagara on Sunday. She leaves 
that place on her downward trip every Monday af- 
ternoon, touching at Toronto, &c. 

Steam- packets are constantly running between 
Prescott, York, and Niagara, and schooners every 
week to Rochester, Kingston, Hamilton, and every 
other direction. 

The increased intercourse between Upper and 
Lower Canada may be judged of from the rapid 
growth of Prescott, on the St. Lawrence, in the route 
from Montreal to Kingston, and distant from the 
former 127 miles, and from the latter 62 miles. In 



320 



THE CANADAS. 



1815, the largest vessel employed for the transit of 
merchandise, between Kingston and Prescott, was 
one solitary schooner of only 40 tons burden. In 
1833, there were 14 steam-boats, of different sizes, 
from 30 to 500 tons • and 50 schooners, from 40 to 
150 tons. These are employed between Prescott 
and the ports on Lake Ontario, besides a number 
from Lake Erie, whose tonnages we could not ascer- 
tain*. The register tonnages of the steam-boats 
and schooners amount to 5,647 tons ! This speaks 
volumes in behalf of the resources of the upper pro- 
vince, as well as of the industrious and enterprising 
spirit of its inhabitants. The number of buildings 
in Prescott, in 1815, was barely eight houses ; in 
1S33, its number nearly 300 ; all excellent buildings, 
some of which are not surpassed in size and elegance 
by any in the province. Its population in 1815, 
did not exceed 50. In 1833, it numbered full 
1,400. Such is the rapid progress of agricultural 
improvement in Upper Canada, that she can supply 
from her own internal resources her whole population 
with every kind of food, while the export of her 
raw and manufactured materials pays for all foreign 
luxuries, and leaves a balance in her favour. Her 
exports of wheat last year were 69,948 bushels j and 
of wheat flour 48,809 barrels. This year (1835) her 
exports will nearly double that of last year — these are 
cheering prospects. Although the yearly increase 
of her population, by immigration and otherwise, has, 
for some years past, been great, yet it has not kept 

* Last year there were two steam-boats started on the 
Otonabee river, and one on Lake Simcoe. 



SOCIAL STATE. 



321 



pace with the increase of her trade. Since 1825 the 
forwarding* business at Prescott has more than dou- 
bled every three years : this year it will double that 
of last year. From these facts we should infer that 
the population must be in prospering circumstances. 
In 1815 the entire population of the upper province 
did not exceed 40,000 souls : in 1833, it exceeded 
300,000 5 * having thus, in 1 8 years, increased more 
than seven-fold. In 1815 the business was little 
more than nominal ; at present, it almost exceeds 
belief. Were we asked to explain this, we would 
state, it is to be attributed to the inexhaustible re- 
sources of the country, and enterprising habits of 
the people, who are deep and shrewd calculators, 
fond of enterprise, persevering, and determined in 
their dispositions and habits. 

A gentleman writing from Chatham, on the Thames, 
in July last, says : — " We have now in progress a 
rail-road between this town to London, thence 
to Hamilton, on the head waters of Lake Ontario, 
which will connect Lakes Huron, St. Clair, Erie, and 
Ontario $ and from the work already performed, I 
doubt not it will be quite equal to the far-famed 
Manchester rail-road. Ten years since, not a white 
inhabitant was within 20 miles of this town • we 
have now upwards of 18,000 active and industrious 
inhabitants in this township, with four mills, six pair 
of French bur stones, two breweries, many saw-mills, 

* A farm within the limits of the corporation, (Hamilton) 
was lately sold for 22,500 dollars ! the same about six years 
ago being purchased for 1,500 dol. It is to be laid out in 
building lots. 

vol. i. y 



322 



THE CANADAS. 



&c. We have ten steam-boats, some of them up- 
wards of 700 tons, plying between this and Lakes 
Michigan, Detroit, Godrich, Sandwich. Chipawa, 
Buffalo, &c, with one of the most productive soils 
in the world, that will yield 18 to 20 barrels of the 
finest white wheat per acre, without any manure, 
from 10 to 15 years to come. All British persons 
are entitled to 200 acres of land, at 15s. per acre- 
payment to be complete in 10 years. I would re- 
commend all persons to come out whose property 
is dwindled at home." The writer proceeds to say : 
— (( Settlers must work hard themselves, at the same 
time they should recollect it is on their own estates 
they are working, and that they have no rent, tithes, 
taxes, &c. to pay, except 6d. per acre per year, the 
government tax for making roads, bridges, &c. after 
the land has been reclaimed seven years. In this 
township we have two large Protestant churches, 
four Methodist meeting-houses, two Presbyterian, 
and two Quaker meeting-houses, a Roman Catholic 
chapel, three endowed schools, two newspapers (pub- 
lished three times a week), a ladies' boarding-school, 
an excellent commercial and classical academy 5 an 
agricultural society has also been established here ; 
all creeds live here on very friendly terms, and much 
united, — endeavour to forward each other's views 
and interest by mutual gootl offices." There is no 
exaggeration in the foregoing picture 5 it is a noble 
proof of what Britons can accomplish. 

An American journalist of the present year, speak- 
ing of the United States portion of Lake Erie, says, 
that the first vessel navigating its waters, under the 
American flag, was in 1790, which was a schooner 



SOCIAL STATE. 



323 



of 70 tons burthen. Up to 1810 there were not 
more than four or five other vessels of a similar 
size. ' Now/ says the American writer, ' Lake Erie 
appears like a frequented track in the highway of 
commercial nations. Its waters are navigated by 
30 steam-boats, (exclusive of other American steam- 
boats connected with them, and running on the De- 
troit river and Lake Michigan), and 150 sloops and 
schooners. The shipping on this lake has increased, 
in the three last years, from 6 to 18,000 tons. The 
tonnage entering the port of Buffalo * last year, was 
more than 200,000 ; and 100,000 passengers are 
estimated to have left it for the west. Previous to 
opening the canals last season, the tolls were reduced 
28 1-2 per cent, on most of the products of the 
country, and 14 1-4 per cent, on merchandize. Not- 
withstanding this reduction, the amount of tolls re- 
ceived on the Erie and Champlain canals during the 
last season, is 1,464,059 dol. 99 cents, which is 
234,7/ 6 dol. 51 cents more than the receipts of the 
preceding year." 

* Buffalo is on the American shore of Lake Erie at its S. E. 
extremity, where the Niagara river commences to connect Erie 
and Ontario. The ever speculating Americans project cutting 
a ship canal to connect these lakes, thus opening up the whole 
commerce of the Ohio territory, (which is connected with Lake 
Ontario by a canal, 397 miles, commenced in 1825 and com- 
pleted in seven years, at a cost of £2,000,000 sterling r) to 
New York, and thus avoiding the tedious and dangerous navi- 
gation of the Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic. A 
shrewd American merchant says, that unless the Yankees open 
a steam- boat communication between New York and the great 
lakes, their whole commerce from Superior downwards will 
centre in Montreal. 



324 



THE CANADA S. 



On the whole, Upper Canada holds out an eligible 
situation for emigrants of the higher class, and 
abundance of employment for those of the labouring 
community. To the former I should observe, that 
no person (except United Englishmen, Loyalists/ 
or those entitled by existing regulations to the Go- 
vernment free grants) can obtain any of the waste 
Crown Lands otherwise than by purchase : the sales 
take place under the direction of a Commissioner on 
the first and third Tuesday of every month in the 
different districts. The lands are put up at an upset 
price, of which notice is given at the time of adver- 
tising the sale., and the conditions are one-fourth of 
the purchase-money paid down — the remainder in 
three equal annual instalments, with interest at 6 per 
cent, payable on and with each instalment : when this 
is completed a patent for the lands is issued free of 
charge. The clergy reserves are sold on these terms 
— 10 per cent, payable at the time, and the remainder 
in nine annual instalments of 2 per cent, each, with 
interest. There are occasional sales of town lots, &c. 
The general size of a township is 69,000 acres — 12 
miles by nine, say with nine lines of nine miles each, 
(called concession lines), 400 rods apart, upon each 
of which a narrow line is reserved for a road : there 
are also two cross or check lines, each at right 
angles to the concession lines, and three miles apart, 
upon which the corners of the lots are marked, SO 

* On the separation of the United States from Great Britain, 
those who preserved their allegiance to the British Crown and 
fled to Canada, were entitled to 200 acres of land each, by Act 
of Parliament. 



SOCIAL STATE. 



325 



rods apart 5 thus 400 rods deep, with 80 rods front, 
gives 200 acres to each lot, with a road in the front 
and rear of the farm. 

It is difficult to ascertain the quantity of lands 
settled or ungranted in the province. In 1830, ac- 
cording to a document in the Surveyor-General's 
Office, the surveyed townships appeared thus : — 

Granted prior to 1804, 4,500,000 acres ; ditto 
since 1804, 3,800,000 ; to be settled by Colonel Tal- 
bot, 302,420 ; total granted, 8,602, 426 acres. Re- 
maining ungranted, 1,537,439 acres 5 Crown and 
Clergy reserves 2-rths, 4,142,750 5 total, 5,680,189 
acres. 

Although a great part of the Crown reserves have 
been sold to the Upper Canada Company, and a very 
valuable part of them given to the University, it is 
estimated that there are still upwards of 5,000,000 
acres of good land open for settlement without going 
north of the back line where 7 or 8,000,000 acres 
of excellent soil may yet be found. Exclusive of the 
lots remaining ungranted in the surveyed townships 
before mentioned, the rough estimate by Mr. Ri- 
chards, the Commissioner of Land, at present avail- 
able in round numbers is : — 

In townships not surveyed from Luther to Zero, 
730,000 acres ; in the Newcastle district and joining 
the Home ditto, 550,000 ; in the western ditto, west 
of the Upper Canada Company, 350,000 ; in the 
London ditto, north of ditto, 340,000 ; in ditto, not 
yet purchased from the Chippewa Indians, 2,500,000 
acres 3 total, 4,470,000 acres. 



326 



THE CAN A DAS, 



It must be self-evident, that for years to come, 
Upper Canada can find room for an immense popu- 
lation 3 its fertile soil, the productive nature of the 
fine climate, extensive water communication, and 
beautiful scenery, peculiarly fit it for the reception of 
British emigrants. 

Lower Canada has certainly not kept pace in its 
advancement and prosperity with the Upper pro- 
vince : this may be accounted for partly by the dis- 
position of the Canadians of French descent, and 
partly by the nature of the landed tenures along the 
St. Lawrence. It must, however, be admitted, that 
the political disputes in the Lower Province have 
tended much to unsettle men's minds, and to pre- 
vent emigrants of respectability from settling in the 
Colony : I trust that the disputes between the French 
and English party are drawing to a close 3 the main 
object of the former is, that the Legislative Council 
should be an elective chamber, chosen by a higher 
class of electors than those who exercise the fran- 
chise for returning members to the House of As- 
sembly 3 and, secondly, that all the revenues raised 
within the province should be at the disposal of the 
representatives of those from whom it is levied. I 
offer here no opinion on either of those points, they 
are fully treated of in my Colonial Policy, and will 
be settled, I trust, to the satisfaction of all parties, 
by his Majesty's Commissioners now in Canada. The 
tide of emigration has for some time been settling 
towards the North American continent, as shewn by 
the following returns : — 



SOCIAL STATE. 32? 



Emigrants to the British N« American Colonies and to the U. States. 





1825 


1826 


1827 


1828 


1829 


To N. American Colonies 
To United States . . 


8/41 
5551 



12818 

7063 


1264S 
14526 


12084 
1281/ 


13307 
15678 


Total .. 


14292 


19881 


27174 


24901 


28985 




1830 


1831 


1832 


1833 


1834 


To N. American Colonies 
To United States . . 


30574 
24887 


5S067 
23418 


66339 
32872 


28808 
29109 


40060 
330/4 


Total . . 


55461 


814S5 


: 99211 


57917 


73134 



Of the foregoing', a large number in the first line 
were for Upper and Lower Canada, and many who 
shipped themselves for New York did so for cheap 
conveyance, and on account of the winter season, 
afterwards passed over into Canada. The number 
of emigrants proceeding to Canada the first year after 
the peace was about 1,250 3 from that period the 
number has gradually increased, and the following 
shews the number who arrived in Quebec from 
1819 to 1834 :— 

1819,12,9073 1820,11,239 3 1821, 8,050 3 1822, 
10,468 3 1823, 10,258 3 1824, 6,515 3 1825, 9,09/ 3 
1826, 10,731 3 1827, 16,862 , 1828, 11,697 3 1829 
13,356 3 1830,24,3913 1831,49,2 503 1832, 51,422 3 
1833,21,752 3 1834,30,933, — shewing a total in 16 
years of 298,928 persons. 

* In conclusion, I may observe, that the father of a 
large family, or the young man without occupation 
at home, has, in the Canadas, ample scope for em- 
ployment 3 and I trust that no mistaken views of 



32S 



THE CAN AD AS. 



expected commercial advantages may prematurely 
force those fine agricultural colonies into manufac- 
turing communities, but that they become the gra- 
nary of England, and continue as heretofore an in- 
valuable addition to the British maritime empire. 

In 1807 the gross revenue of Canada was about 
30,000/. ; in 1833 it was 227,314/. including 
30,000/. payable to upper Canada as its share of the 
Custom dues received at Quebec on merchandise of 
general use. 

The Emigrants arriving at Quebec and Montreal 
were from— 





1829 


1830 


1831 


1832 


1S33 


1834 


England. 


3,565 


6,799 


10,343 


7,481 


5,198 


6,799 


Ireland, 


9,614 


18,300 


34,133 


28,204 


12,013 


19,206 


Scotland, 


2,643 


2,450 


5,236 


5,500 


4,196 


4,591 


Total, 


15,822 


27,549 


49,812 


51,185 


21,40/ 


30,596 



The emigrants had, it was estimated, with them 
in 1832, specie to the amount of 700,000/. sterling. 

The foregoing returns sufficiently demonstrate 
the extent to which emigration has taken place. I 
close them with the following statement of the lo- 
cation of the settlers (the latest in my possession), 
and which shows how much Upper Canada is a fa- 
vourite with the emigrants. 





1829 


1830 


183) 1S32 


England, 


3,565 


6,799 


10,243 17,731 


Scotland, 


2,643 


2,450 


6,354 4,379 


Ireland, 


9,614 


18,300 


34,133 27,631 


Other parts. 


123 


451 


424 164 


Total, 


15,945 


2S,000 


51,154 49,905 


Emigrants 


to the 


Lower Ports, not included in 



EMIGRATION. 



329 



the above, for the years 1825, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 
36,000. 



EMIGRANTS INTENDING TO 



From 



England 

Ireland , 

Scotland 

Neighbouring Pro 
vinces 

New York 



Settle in 
L. Canada. 



Proceed to 
Up. Canada. 



Total 



1601 

1033 
/ 2113' 
11512 

936j 

d 

71 



r 93 

i 73 

{ 
{ 



2634 
3625 
1675 
148 
16 



» a a 



/ 8 - 
161966 

r 14159 



{1 



1546 
136 



/4732 

\3366 



Proceed to 
Nova Scotia. 
&c. 



15097 

2398; 
2682 



^"5 * 

C3 a ej 



ri2 
I 9 
ri2 
1 10 



Grand 
Total. 



fa 



10502 
7229 
16281 
11350 
2494 
1885 

77 



{ 
{ 



49905 



N.B. The first line of figures in each column shows the number of 
males, while the second exhibits the number of females. 

These details, I repeat, show the extent to which 
emigration has been carried, and the rate at which 
it is still progressing ; whether an island like Eng- 
land is weakened by it, or one like Ireland, with a 
more dense population than China,* the reader will 
find discussed in my Colonial Policy, I proceed next 
to show the rates of wages and provisions, in order 

* China with 352,866,012 mouths, on an area of 1,225,823 
square miles, has 288 mouths to each square mile : Ireland 
with 8,000,000 mouths, on an area of 27,000 square miles, 
has almost 300 mouths to the square mile ! England has 250 
mouths to the square mile : Wales 110 : Scotland 80 mouths 
to the square mile ; the average for the United Kingdom being 
220 mouths to each square mile. Whether nations should not, 
like bees, send out their annual swarms, in order to make 
room for new generations, is a question deserving considera- 
tion. 



330 



THE CANADAS. 



that those who are determined on emigrating may 
judge for themselves, 

WAGES AND PRICE OF PROVISIONS. 

The rate of wages at Kingston, Upper Canada, 
during the whole of 1S33, was — for masons, 7s. 6d. ; 
carpenters and joiners, 6s. 6d. ; labourers, 35. to 3s. 
6d. ; plastering, including materials, three coat 
work Is. 8d. per yard ; building, per toise, 12s. 6d. of 
72 solid feet, for labour only ; no walls taken at 
less than two feet thick. The prices of country 
produce in the Market at Toronto, on the morning 
of Wednesday, the 9th July, 1834, were : — 

Firewood, cord, lis. 3d. a 12s. 6d.; beef, lb. Sid. a Ad.; 
eggs, doz. Id. ; cheese, 6d. a butter, lb. Id. a lid,; 

oats, bushel, Is. a Is. 3d.; barley, do. 3s.. lid. ; wheat, 60 lbs. 
3s. 9d. a 3s. 10d.; flour, fine, barrel, 18s. 9d. a 20s.— Mont- 
real, July 5, 1834. 

The following is an average of the prices of pro- 
visions in Lower Canada. 





January. 


March. 


May. 


July. 


September. 


November. 




s. 


d. 


s. 


d. 


s. 


d. 


s. 


d- 


s. 


d. 


s. 


d. 


Wheat, bis. 


5 


3 


5 


1 


5 


4 


5 


3 


5 


1 


5 


6 


Maize, do. 


3 


10 


3 


3 


3 


2 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


l 


Oats, do. 
Barley, do. 


2 


4 


2 


6 


2 


3 


3 


2 


2 


8 


2 


6 


3 


6 


3 


8 


3 


10 


3 


10 


3 


10 


3 


10 


Potatoes, do. 


2 





2 


6 


2 


6 


2 


6 


2 


6 


2 


6 


Butter, fresh, lb. 


1 


3 


1 


3 


1 





1 





1 





1 


3 


Do. salt, do. 





11 





11 





11 





9 





9 





11 


Cheese, lb. 





5 





6 





5 





5 





5 





6 


Hay, 100 bundles 


40 





45 





50 





50 





45 





45 





Straw, do. 


12 


6 


,12 


6 


15 





15 





15 





12 


6 


Bread, 4lb. loaf 





7 


° 


7 





7 





7 





7 





7 


Meat, stone 
Beef, lb. 


3 


6 


\l 


6 


4 


6 


4 





3 


6 


3 


8 





3 




3? 





4 





4 





3? 





3 


Mutton, do. 





4 









5 





5 





4£ 


4 


Pork, do. 





5 


\o 


5 





44 










4 





5 


Veal, do. 





6 





(5 





5 





*i 





44 





6 


Flour, 100 lbs. 


15 





16 





14 


9 


14 


c 


14 





14 


6 


Fine do. do. 


14 


t 


15 





13 





13 


613 


9 


14 





Seconds, do. do. 


13 


c 


13 


G 


12 


10 


12 





1* 


6 


12 


10 



I 



EMIGRATION. 



331 



Prices at Montreal in 1834.] — Ashes, pot, per cwt. 225. 6d 
a 23s. ; pearl do. 235. 6d. a 24s. ; pork, mess, per barrel, 30s. ; 
prime mess, do. 42s. 6d. prime, 55s. 3d. ; lard, lb. 5id. a 6d.; 
butter, salt, lb. 6d. a Id.; flour, superfine, per barrel, Canada, 
26s. 6d. a 21s.; fine do. 25s.; middling do. lis. 6d. a 18s.; 
Tobacco, U. C. leaf, per lb. 5& a 6d. ; rum, Jamaica, per gall. 
4s. 3d. ; whiskey, Montreal, 1 to 2, 3s. 6d. a 3s. 9d. ; Tea, 
twankey, per lb. 2s. lOid. ; hyson skin, 2s. lid. a 2s. 9d.; 
hyson do. 4s 4£d. a 4s. 6d. ; coffee, per lb. lOd. a lid.-, sugar, 
Barbadoes, per cwt. 40s. a 42s. 6d. ; iron, English, per cwt. 
12s.; Swedes, do. 20s.; Russia, do. 22s. lOd. a 25s.; salt, 
Liverpool, per bushel, Is. 3d. a is. 6d. 

In Upper Canada the wages of labour are more 
likely to continue high than in Lower Canada, except 
in the eastern townships. 



The wages at the Royal Engineer Office, Quebec. 



Class per day in Cur. 


Pay 


Class per day in Cur. 


Pay. 




1831 


1832 




1831 


1832 




s. d. 


s, d. 




s. d. 


S. d. 


Masons l 


6 


6 


Carpenters l 


4 6 


5 


2 


5 6 


5 6 


2 


4 


4 6 


3 


5 


5 


3 


3 6 


4 


4 


4 6 


4 6 


Smiths 1 


4 6 


4 6 


5 


4 


4 


2 


4 


4 


6 


3 6 


3 6 


3 


3 6 


3 6 



Labourers, I class, 2s. 6d. 

2 2 3 

3 2 

Labourers at the Cove, 3s. 6d. per day better 
informed class, 5s. 5 boom men, 5s. : broad-axe do. 
55. to 7s. 6d. 3 narrow do. 4s. 6d. to 55. 3 sawyers, 
6s. 6d, 5 labourers on board ships, 35. 6d. to 55. per 
day, and found in the best of every thing. The 
same rate of wages, with occasional variations, still 
exists. 

These statements will enable a man, who has no 
other wealth than his labour, or his skill as a trades- 
man, to estimate his value in Canada 3 where there 



332 



THE CANADAS. 



is still room for a population of many millions. The 
emigrant, who has a little capital with which to 
commence farming, may judge of the soil, from the 
following specimen of American farming, opposite 
the Canadian territory, according to a statement 
just received from the United States. Ten acres of 
orchard ground produced 25 tons of hay 3 26 acres 
of maize, 1580 bushels 3 4 acres of wheat, 140 j 1 
acre of flax, 600 ; 8 acres of oats, 560 3 1 acre of 
barley 60 5 2 acres of potatoes, 1000 : 2 acres of 
vegetables fattened 400 chickens. Much of the 
industry of the American farmers is exercised in 
rearing cattle, hogs, and poultry, for the market 
of the towns. The hogs are fed chiefly on In- 
dian corn, and the plenty of that kind of grain often 
makes it be given to them, when they might be fat- 
tened on much cheaper stuff. The rearing and 
feeding of cattle is carried on very systematically, 
and to a great extent ; there being drovers, as in 
this country, who purchase the* beasts from the 
farmers, and often drive them as far as 600 miles to 
be sold. New York consumes about 700 oxen per 
week, weighing on an average 55 stone of 14 lbs. 
each. Canada presents many other features deserv- 
ing of the attention of the intending emigrant, and 
which a man of shrewd mind may gather from the 
foregoing statements. 



333 



CONCLUSION. 

The preceding pages will, it is to be hoped, convey 
an accurate idea of the Canadas to the general 
reader, and enable him to estimate in some degree 
the progress and civilization of this highly impor- 
tant section of the British Empire ; those who seek 
further details, as contained in elaborate statistical 
tables, will find abundant materials in the large 
Edition of my work. 

In the present edition, I have not entered into 
any disquisition respecting the political disputes 
now unhappily prevailing in Lower Canada, — 
but it may be necessary for the general reader to 
know, that two parties exist in the Province, — the 
one calling itself the French party, consisting of 
the descendants of the original French or Acadian 
Settlers, — the other being British and Irish emi- 
grants and their descendants. It is diflicult to esti- 
mate the numerical strength of these parties 3 — 
those of French origin are stated by M. Papineau 
(who is the Speaker of the House of Assembly and 
their leader) at 525,000 — while the British are rec- 
koned at about 75,000. This, however, is incor- 
rect 3 the latter are estimated by their party at 
150,000 3 so far as to their numbers 3 with regard 
to their intelligence, wealth, and station in society, 



334 



THE CANADAS. 



there is less difficulty in forming a judgment \ the 
British and Irish comprize according to the state- 
ment of the " Constitutional Association of Que- 
bec/' nearly all the merchants, the principal Mem- 
bers of the learned professions, a large body of 
skilful and wealthy artizans, mechanics, and a great 
number of respectable and industrious agriculturists, 
possessing extensive real estate, and holding by far 
the greatest portion of the capital employed in the 
pursuits of trade and industry. 

The party, however, who by reason of the ex- 
tended elective franchise return the greatest number 
of deputies to the House of Assembly, are the habi- 
tans or farmers of the province, — men of estimable 
character, simple habits, and but little experienced 
in political matters : they are consequently too 
liable to be influenced by designing individuals, who 
may wish to make a trade of Agitation and turn it 
to their personal interest and pecuniary advantage. 
Such men avail themselves of the existence of every 
grievance, however slight, which they magnify to 
the greatest possible extent, and fan by unceasing 
efforts the smallest excitement into a flame. The 
Government, on the other hand, have for a series of 
years done little or nothing to meet the coming 
storm 5 abuses of various kinds were permitted, 
pluralities of places sanctioned — and frauds left un- 
punished. The result has been, that a few men either 
really, or affectedly imbued with philanthropic views, 
have sown the seeds of dissension in the colony and 
are now reaping an abundant harvest. National 



CONCLUSION. 



335 



prejudices have been appealed to by the leaders of the 
habitans — the British and Irish Colonists have been 
denounced as foreigners, monopolists, and despots,, 
and discord with its fell brand has lit a torch which 
time and judicious measures can alone extinguish. 
The House of Assembly demanded an unconditional 
control over the Crown (and other,) revenues 5 — this 
demand should have been met with calmness and 
acceded to, on the granting of a proper Civil list, 
whereby the chief officers of the Government, — the 
Judges, &c. should have been rendered indepen- 
dent of the annual vote of the House of Assembly. 
But no tact or discretion was used, and the Colonial 
officers would have gone without their salaries but 
for the loan of a sum of money from the Military 
or Commissariat Chest, whence the troops are paid 
by Great Britain, and which sum the French party 
hesitate to refund. The Government have now 
conceded what ought never to have been refused 
— namely the abolition of pluralities in the public 
offices, — the removal of political judges — and the 
settlement of the revenue and civil list ; but a 
new demand has been made by the leaders of the 
French party 5 who, conscious that the Legis- 
lative Council, so long as it is elected by the Crown, 
is a bar to their proceeding, are anxious to make 
it elective by the people as in the United States. 
It is not within my province here to discuss this 
question 3 the full examination of so momentous a 
topic belongs to my Colonial Policy ; but I would 
earnestly entreat all classes in the province to mo- 
derate their political animosities, to reflect that by 



336 



THE CAN AD AS. 



making the Colony a hot-bed for strife, they are 
not merely poisoning the sources of individual hap- 
piness, but essentially retarding the progressive im- 
provement of their country. Every thing that is 
desirable for the welfare of the Settlement is at- 
tainable by mildness and calm remonstrance ; and 
while on the one hand I would counsel the Govern- 
ment at home and at Quebec, to grant with a good 
grace, and in time, every liberal measure consistent 
with the wants and wishes of the people and the 
due prerogative of the Crown, — so on the other 
I would earnestly recommend the so called French 
party not to make demands which a little reflection 
will teach them England cannot at present grant, 
and even if she could, it is more than doubtful 
whether an elective Legislative Assembly would 
under present circumstances be adapted to the 
happiness of the colony. 

By loyalty — by obedience to the laws — and by 
social concord, Canada will make more rapid 
strides in wealth and strength than she has even yet 
accomplished 5 and when the Canadians reflect that 
there are things dearer to mankind than riches or 
political power, they will not, I trust, rashly fling 
away the substance by grasping at the shadow, — 
they will remember that the neighbouring republic, 
with 2,000,000 African slaves within its territory, 
and a host of minor differences, now requires the ut- 
most exertion to preserve its territorial integrity ; 
and that sooner or later the present United States 
will be divided into a number of petty oligarchical 
republics, or consolidated in an empire, with a single 



CONCLUSION. 



337 



despot swaying the destinies of millions. In fine, 
Canada has every thing to lose, and nothing to gain 
by revolutionary proceedings 5 and I fervently hope 
the day is far distant, when its innocent, brave, and 
hospitable people may, either by factious proceed- 
ings or coercive measures, be induced to forfeit that 
allegiance to the British Crown which it is their in- 
terest — their honour — and their duty to preserve 
inviolate. 



LOWER 




CANADA. 



FINIS* 



PRINTED BY W. N5C0L, 51, PALL-MALL, 



PROSPECTUS 

OF THE 

BRITISH COLONIAL LIBRARY. 



The COLONIES of Britain are without a parallel in the history of the 
world. In each hemisphere, under every zone, and beneath various 
climes, one hundred and thirty millions of human beings, differ- 
ing in colour, language, laws, religion, institutions and manners, are 
linked together in a Maritime Empire, on which the sun never sets, 
and over whose vast and fertile area the blessings of civilization and 
Christianity are rapidly extending, diffusing light and life into every 
section of the habitable earth. 

It has been a matter of surprise, that, while we have historical 
accounts of almost every other section of the Globe, of whatever 
extent or importance, we should be without any History of these 
invaluable possessions, now so closely connected with our country, 
and forming so vast and interesting a portion of the British Empire. 

To supply this desideratum, and to lay before the public in a 
complete and popular form, and at an easily accessible price, the 
History of our several Colonies, separated as they are by geogra- 
phical distinctions, and yet connected by political institutions and 
commercial intercourse, is the object of " The British Colonial 
Library j"The work will be published in monthly volumes, illustrated 
with Engravings and Maps, and will embrace the History of the Con- 
quest or Cession, and early settlement of each Colony, an account of 
the Climate, Geology, Natural History, Population, Government, 
Finance, Commerce, Manufactures, Staple Products, Monetary System, 
Religion, Education and the Press, Value of Property — moveable and 
immoveable, Military Defences, Social State, Character, Manners, 
Progress of Civilization, &c. ; — nothing, in fact, being omitted which 
may be useful to Emigrants, or serve to convey to the general en- 
quirer an exact idea of the actual condition of each Settlement ; 
thus rendering the work one which will blend the useful with the 
agreeable — the instructive with the entertaining. 

It remains only to be added, that the author has passed one-third 
of his life, either as an officer in His Majesty's service, or as a private 
individual, exploring the Colonies of the British Empire) that since 
his return to Europe his stores of information have been enriched by 
official documents, never before published, derived from^the Colonial 
Office, the India House, the Board of Trade, the Custom-House, &c, 
and by many very valuable private and semi-official communications 
from the various Companies connected with the Colonies, the Go- 
vernors of each Settlement, and numerous Merchants interested in 
their welfare in London and Liverpool, as well as in the Colonies 
themselves. * # 

- It 



SYNOPSIS OF 



THE 



BRITISH COLONIAL LIBRARY, 



In Monthly Volumes, Six Shillings each, 



ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS. 



The Canadas, Upper and Lower. 

New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, Swan River, and 
South Australia. 

The Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Seychelles, the 
Falkland Islands, St. Helena, and Ascension. 

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton, Prince 
Edward's Isle, Newfoundland, &c. 

The West Indies — Leeward Islands : — containing Jamaica, 
Anguilla, Tortola, St. Kitts, Barbuda, Antigua, 
Montserrat, Dominica, the Bahamas, and Honduras. 

The West Indies — Windward Islands: — containing Barba- 
does, St. Lucie, St. Vincent, Grenada, Tobago, Tri- 
nidad, the Bermudas, Demerara, Essequibo, and 
Berbice. 

Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. 

Ceylon, Penang, Malacca, and Sincapore. 

Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Cape Coast Castle, and Accra. 

Gibraltar, Malta, the Ionian Islands, Heligoland, &c. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




017 299 602 4 



